Where they are in the points table, they shouldn’t be there

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Former India bowler Zaheer Khan believes the reinforcements Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) made during the off-season, including the auction and the trades, should have led to them being higher on the points table. The Rishabh Pant-led side are placed ninth currently in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, after four losses on the trot.

Zaheer Khan, who served as the mentor of the franchise last season, noted the lack of injuries, and recruitment of Mohammed Shami, should have led to a significant improvement. However, that has not been the case amid the star batters’ poor returns and lack of stability in terms of team selection and batting order.

“Whatever was going on, it was good, there was no need to change it. The bowling is looking better than last year, all of those who were on the injury list are back and doing well, your trades went well. So overall, things are better from a squad point of view. So where they are in the points table, they should not be there. So, somewhere things must be going wrong, which is why you have to see days like this,” Zaheer Khan said on Cricbuzz.

LSG will be looking to end their losing run in the bottom of the table clash against the tenth placed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Ekana Stadium, on Sunday, April 26.

Virender Sehwag names his LSG batting order for IPL 2026 match against KKR

Former India batter Virender Sehwag feels that LSG’s tendency to keep tinkering with their batting order is the root cause of their struggles. He urged the franchise to restore the overseas top three of Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, and Nicholas Pooran.

“No player is scoring consistently for them, that is the only consistency. They will have to improve that. You have to give them pep talks, motivate them, put a prize on the line, or something else so that they start scoring runs. My batting order would be Markram, Marsh, Pooran, Pant, Badoni, and then Mukul Choudhary,” Virender Sehwag said.

In their last two matches, they have gone for a whole new opening combination of Mitchell Marsh and Ayush Badoni. This particular combination has resulted in the likes of Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran coming in as late as No.4 or No.5.