Lucknow Super Giants possibly had the worst pace attack in IPL 2025, with over 50% of their battery being injured. Rishabh Pant and co. started the tournament without the services of the trio of Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav. While the team did rope in Shardul Thakur as one of the replacements, they hardly managed to extract the maximum from him in terms of fast bowling.
LSG have a golden opportunity to release or trade their injury-prone pacers during the IPL 2026 trade window later this year. It remains to be seen if the Sanjiv Goenka-owned team will persist with the same pace battery or look for alterantives.
Why LSG need to target pacers in IPL 2026 trade window
Mayank, who was LSG’s second highest retention at Rs 11 crore, played just 2 matches in IPL 2025. He returned to action after missing almost a month of the season, only to pick up an injury after taking part in a couple of games. The pacer has had a history of recurring back injury that has not allowed him to play a complete season to date. LSG could might as well look to let go of the injury-prone pacer and look for other options.
Mohsin was another retention who failed to show up in IPL 2025 due to injury. The pacer, who was retained for Rs 4 crore, was ruled out even before the tournament started.
Avesh turned out to be LSG’s only reliable pacer in IPL 2025, having played 13 matches and picking as many wickets. However, he too, missed the start of the league due to an injury.
Akash Deep was another pace option that LSG had. However, he only played 6 matches and picked up 3 wickets. Besides, the pacer also has a history of recurring back issues. In fact, he entered IPL 2025 after recovering from an injury. Now, in the ongoing IND vs ENG Test series, he has trouble with his back yet again. Whether Akash is a long-term solution for LSG’s pace woes is very questionable.
Despite having Shamar Joseph in the squad, LSG did not utilize the bowler even for a single game. This is after they bought him back in the mega auction. LSG should release the Caribbean pacer and look for other options who could fit into their scheme of things.
Apart from the aforementioned bowlers, LSG’s pace battery comprises of inexperienced fast bowlers like Prince Yadav, Rajvardhan Hangrekar, Akash Singh and Arshin Kulkarni.
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