Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will be looking to make amends to their playing XI in the game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) as they aim to get back to winning ways after suffering two consecutive losses. LSG will be looking to use George Linde directly in the playing XI instead of using him as an impact player. Although he was not that effective in the previous game against RCB, his form in T20s over the last year is a factor that LSG would consider and would want to utilize him in a better manner with both bat and ball.
Another change that LSG could consider is unleashing Mayank Yadav on PBKS. The pacer is yet to play a game in IPL 2026 despite the team’s support staff’s assurance that the fast-bowler is fit. LSG desperately need to returning to winning ways as they have only managed to get 2 victories from 5 matches that they have played so far in this season.
Predicted LSG playing XI vs PBKS
Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (C), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Mukul Choudhary, George Linde, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav
Impact player: Mayank Yadav
Linde in playing XI?
Linde is likely to replace Abdul Samad in LSG’s playing XI in the game against Punjab Kings on Sunday. The South African all-rounder was signed as an injury replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga and played his first IPL 2026 game against RCB. In that match, he bowled just 1.1 overs in which he conceded 9 runs. With the bat, he scored just 7 runs off as many deliveries while batting at number 8.
Since 2025, he has scored 622 runs in T20s at a strike rate of 142.66. He has an economy of 7.23 as well in that period. He could very well be an apt replacement for Samad, who scored a duck in the previous game and wasn’t used with the ball either.
Meanwhile, Marsh and Markram have done their bit as the openers by providing good starts to the side. But it has been captain Pant who has been a let-down in IPL 2026 so far. Batting at number 3, the southpaw has just one fifty-plus score to his name in this season and has put immense pressure on the rest of the batting line-up with his repeated failures. Pooran, too, needs to pull his socks up and return to his destructive best.
What about Mayank Yadav?
Mayank, who returned from injury earlier in IPL 2026, is yet to feature in a game. The fast-bowler, who grabbed eyeballs with his ability to bowl 150+ kmph deliveries, has been grappling with injuries over the last few seasons, which has led to his career not taking off as expected.
A torn hamstring wiped out his 2023 season. In 2024, just when he had burst onto the scene with back-to-back Player of the Match performances, a side strain halted his momentum. The following year proved even more frustrating. A lumbar stress injury in his lower back surfaced soon after his India debut, and a brief comeback in IPL 2025 lasted only two games before the issue flared up again. In mid-2025, he underwent surgery in Christchurch on his L5 vertebra.
While LSG’s current bowling attack continues to thrive well under Shami and Prince Yadav, the team could be looking to use Mayank as an impact player when they are bowling. Mitchell Marsh, who has not been used with the ball at all in IPL 2026, could be substituted out.
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