Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel duirng a practice session on the eve of their match against LSG at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on March 31, 2026.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
Ahead of Lucknow Super Giants’ Indian Premier League campaign opener, head coach Justin Langer unintentionally conducted a refresher course for the media by naming 18 of the 25 squad members during the pre-match press conference here.
The former Australian opener was visibly pleased to have a problem of plenty ahead of the contest against Delhi Capitals.
“They [pacers Mayank Yadav and Naman Tiwari] are both fit, they are both very exciting prospects, and they have huge futures. The beautiful thing that we’ve got for this tournament, which we haven’t had in the past, is we have not only got those two young bowlers, but we also have Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Akash Singh, (Anrich) Nortje, and Arjun Tendulkar… we have got this pool of players, fast bowlers who are fit to get selected,” he said on Tuesday.
While Langer remained tight-lipped about skipper Rishabh Pant’s batting position, he underlined the quality and adaptability of his team.
“Where do you bat Pant? Where do you bat Nicholas Pooran? Where do you bat Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh? They are all adaptable cricketers. Ayush Badoni is now into his fifth season, and he has been selected in the Indian squad. You’ve got (Abdul) Samad, Shahbaz (Ahmed), who have both had very good domestic seasons. Now, you’ve got someone like Mukul Choudhary, Arshin Kulkarni, who has been the star of the practice games so far. You’ve got young (Akshat) Raghuwanshi,” Langer said, catching his breath, as the potential of his squad dawned on him.
Published – March 31, 2026 09:05 pm IST
