Lucknow, March 31 Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant will have little room for error in a crucial year as his side begins its IPL 2026 campaign against a well-rounded Delhi Capitals here on Wednesday.
Pant could not deliver as a leader and frontline batter in his first year at LSG. Injuries to key players, especially fast bowlers, made his job a lot tougher.
This season, he has a fully fit squad at his disposal that has been bolstered by the addition of veteran Mohammed Shami and Anrich Nortje.
Injury-prone pace sensation Mayank Yadav has worked hard on his fitness over the past 12 months, and LSG hopes that he will repay the strong faith that the franchise has placed in him.
Pacer Mohsin Khan is also making a comeback from injury, and Prince Yadav has also impressed with his medium pace in practice.
Mystery spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi has made a name for himself in his debut season and is looking to build on the significant gains he made 12 months ago.
Compared to the bowling department, the batting looks more settled, with Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram forming one of the most potent opening pairs in the IPL.
Pant, who could not make an impact at number four for most of last season before scoring a century at number three, is set to bat in the top order, with Nicholas Pooran to follow at number four.
LSG will face a side that should have qualified for the playoffs last year after a promising start. Delhi Capitals tried as many as seven opening combinations last year, and this season they are confident of more stability in the top order.
KL Rahul is certain to open the innings, but there is still some uncertainty about his partner. The options are Prithvi Shaw, Abhishek Porel, and Pathum Nissanka.
They have brought in David Miller to add more muscle to the middle order, which also includes another South African, Tristan Stubbs.
Delhi Capitals have a potent bowling attack despite the unavailability of Mitchell Starc due to an injury.
They have two match-winning spinners in captain Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. The addition of the experienced Lungi Ngidi strengthens the pace attack. Ngidi was in top form in the T20 World Cup, deceiving the batters with his deceptive change of pace.
Left-arm pacer T Natarajan is fully fit after spending last year on the sidelines due to an injury.
Squads:
LSG: Rishabh Pant, Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Arshin Kulkarni, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Maharaj Singh, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Arjun Sachin Tendulkar, Mayank Prabhu Yadav, Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Josh Inglis, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Mohsin Khan, Manimaran Siddharth, Mukul Choudhary.
Delhi Capitals: Abishek Porel, KL Rahul, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Tripurana Vijay, David Miller, Auqib Nabi Dar, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Prithvi Shaw, Kyle Jamieson, Ajay Jadav Mandal, T Natarajan, Madhav Tiwari, Karun Nair, Sahil Parakh.
Match starts at 7:30 PM IST.