LSG’s batting order a concern? Aakash Chopra raises pertinent point ahead of IPL 2026

2 hours ago 12

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) did some big shopping at the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction and strengthened their bowling a great deal. But then, what perhaps remains a concern is their batting. They did not get a lot of batters at the auction, which could pose a lot of threat to them when the actual tournament comes in March next year.

Lower middle-order an issue for LSG

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has raised the same concern. How would the batting order look, who would be in the middle order, and who would be in the lower middle order? “LSG has kept Rishabh Pant at number three, but the batting order remains a question mark. Pant can play higher, and last season’s top order was exceptional – three of the top four batsmen scored over 500 runs, which is very rare. The real issue has been the lower order — at five, six, and seven — players like David Miller couldn’t consistently deliver last season,” Chopra said on JioStar.

“This season, LSG have more bowling options with Hasaranga, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, and Mayank Yadav, along with Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, and Arjun Tendulkar. Despite these improvements, the lower-order batting remains a concern that has not been fully addressed,” he added.

To add to that, LSG spent a fortune on getting Australia wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis, who cost INR 8.6 crore and might be available for four matches due to his marriage coming up.

LSG full squad

Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Shahbaz Ahamad, Arshin Kulkarni, Ayush Badoni, Digvesh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, M Siddharth, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohammad Shami (traded in), Arjun Tendulkar (traded in), Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Josh Inglis (wk)