Retained for Rs 11 crore before Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction, released a season later, Ravi Bishnoi has had a roller coaster ride with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). After a lackluster season, Bishnoi had work to do. But, he had faith in his abilities, worked on his weaknesses in domestic cricket and opted for the highest base price, Rs 2 crore. In the mini-auction, his name started a bidding war. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) were interested him from the start. Then, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) joined the bidding war which was eventually won by RR. In his debut season for RR, Bishnoi has done well so far, especially against Gujarat Titans (GT), taking four key wickets. After RR’s narrow six-run win over GT, Bishnoi reflected on the tough season and what he needed to do.
"Last season was difficult," Bishnoi said during the post-match presentation. "But I tried to stick to my processes. I had one weakness, if my length was wrong then I was getting hit for fours and sixes. That's what I was trying. I played a whole season of domestics and worked on perfecting my lengths. Hitting my lengths made it difficult for batters, when I was too full I got hit today too."
"Mental, technical and physical... all three. I've been putting the physical work too, in off-season, between games and in domestic."
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Bishnoi’s numbers for LSG
Bishnoi joined LSG in 2022, their first IPL season. He bagged 13 and 16 wickets in the first two seasons. Then, his stocks dipped. He took 10 wickets from 14 games in IPL 2024. In the previous season, he missed a few games too. From 11 games, he managed nine wickets at an average of 44.55 and his economy rate neared 11 runs per over.
Bishnoi ahead in purple cap race
In the ongoing IPL 2026, Bishnoi has got his hands on the purple cap with five wickets from two games and an average better than Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) Vijaykumar Vyshak. He will be next seen in action when RR go up against Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 7 at Guwahati's Barsapara Cricket Stadium.