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After Chennai Super Kings (CSK) released Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, the youngster was set to start a bidding tussle at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction. With Delhi Capitals (DC) putting down their paddle, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bid heavily for the pacer till the three-time IPL-winning franchise acquired his services.
“We wanted to acquire Pathirana, but if we had spent ₹20 crore on him, we wouldn't have had enough money left in our purse. Planning for the rest of the auction with only ₹2.9 crore remaining wouldn't have been feasible. That's why we had to let Pathirana go,” LSG owner Goenka said in an exclusive interaction with Sports Tak on December 16.
However, Goenka was happy with getting South Africa pacer Anrich Nortje and Sri Lanka’s spin-bowling all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga for their base price of Rs 2 crore each.
“Later, we managed to get Anrich Nortje and Wanindu Hasaranga at their base prices, which worked in our favour. Both are excellent bowlers, and with Mohammed Shami also in the team, our bowling attack looks quite strong for the upcoming season. We had specifically set aside ₹20 crore in the auction for a fast bowler and a spinner,” he added.
However, it will be a big challenge for them to play Nortje and Hasaranga together. In the previous season, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh opened for LSG followed by Nicholas Pooran. It left only one overseas slot left in their lineup. This means LSG will rely heavily on the services of their Indian pace battery which comprises of Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan and Mohsin Khan. The team management will have a lot of work to do ahead of the auction to choose the best possible eleven plus impact player options for different situations.
Squad full but one overseas slot left unfilled
LSG filled their maximum slog of players (25). However, they did not fill their slots of eight overseas players. They have seven overseas players in their squad. Other than them, only Gujarat Titans (GT) have one overseas slot empty in their squad.
LSG’s full squad for IPL 2026
Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Rishabh Pant (c), Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Akash Singh, Mohammed Shami, Arjun Tendulkar, Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Josh Inglis.
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