Tom Moody had revealed on April 9, that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) would soon name the replacement for injured Sri Lanka all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga. On April 10, the franchise named South African spinner George Linde as his replacement for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
George Linde to replace Wanindu Hasaranga
“Wanindu Hasaranga won’t be able to join us, and we are preparing to get a replacement. We will be announcing it in the next 24 to 48 hours,” Moody had said during LSG’s match against Kolkata Knight Riders. There were a couple of other spinners in the fray — Mohammad Nabi, Rehan Ahmed, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Liam Dawson, but Linde won the race eventually.
Is there a place for him in XI?
Linde can bat lower down the order, and is decent statistically. He has played 250 T20 matches so far, where he has picked up 218 wickets, at an economy of 7.42, while with the bat, he strikes at 136. But with LSG having won two back-to-back matches recently, is there really a place for him in the XI?
Perhaps not. Digvesh Rathi, along with M Siddharth seems to be doing a mighty fine job. The duo this season have maintained economy rates under 9. Then Aiden Markram is in the team as a part-time option, and waiting at the bench is Shahbaz Ahmed, who is a genuine all-rounder.
LSG squad for IPL 2026
Rishabh Pant (c), Nicholas Pooran, Josh Inglis, Matthew Breetzke, Mukul Choudhary, Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahamad, Arshin Kulkarni, George Linde, Ayush Badoni, Mohammad Shami, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, M. Siddharth, Arjun Tendulkar, Anrich Nortje, Digvesh Singh, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, Naman Tiwari.
