Former New Zealand fast bowler Simon Doull criticized Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant and star batsman Nicholas Pooran for their poor performance in the IPL. Doull said the franchise spent around Rs 50 crore on the two batsmen, who managed just one win in the tournament.
Lucknow Super Giants are currently placed ninth in the IPL points table and their chances of qualifying for the playoffs are in danger. The team has won two and suffered four losses, earning only four points from six matches. Their top-order batsmen have consistently struggled throughout the season.
Rishabh Pant has won them a game with the bat – Simon Doull
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Simon Doull criticized these big investments after a string of poor performances. Doull also cited Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh as the main reasons behind the team’s struggles.
“Pant has won them a game with the bat and nothing else. You have spent Rs 50 crore on two players, Pant and Pooran, who have won you a game. Almost half of your purse is on those two players who have won you a game,” Doll said.
“Their biggest issue is three overseas players. You have three overseas batsmen in your top five. One of them, Markram, has done a few performances. Marsh hasn’t done much, and Pooran hasn’t done anything at all. That’s your biggest issue,” he said.
They are trying to liberate Badoni by promoting him – Simon Doull
Lucknow Supergiants spent Rs 27 crore to sign Rishabh Pant, making him the highest-paid player. The franchise also retained West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran for Rs 21 crore. Puran has scored only 51 runs in six innings at an average of 8.50 and strike rate of 79.68.
The Super Giants have tried several starting combinations. He tried Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran as opening batsmen. Simon Dooll said that management promoted Ayush Badoni to give him more freedom.
Simon Doull said, “They have basically come out and said Ayush Badoni is going to open now. They are trying to free Badoni by getting him to open at the top. That is the call.”
They are unsure about their batting order – Simon Doull
Simon Doull said that making such big changes so quickly shows a lack of confidence within the team. He compared Lucknow Super Giants with successful teams in the tournament and said that relying too much on a foreign-heavy top order is not an effective strategy.
“They are unsure about their batting order. They have made quick changes to try and find something,” Doull said.
“They are not sure, and at the beginning of the season they may have been sure. But when you go back-to-back games without performing, you have to think about it. So they have made changes relatively early because they want players to find something. They want their team to find something. But when you are full of overseas batsmen and you look at teams that are having success, why are they having success? They have Indian batsmen,” he concluded.
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