On 23rd December 2022, the auction’s hammer for the IPL 2023 was shut down, and now every franchise has been looking to make a perfect playing 11 for the upcoming edition. Young English all-rounder Sam Curran was acquired by Punjab Kings at INR 18.50 Cr, and with this mammoth amount, Sam became the highest-paid cricketer in the history of IPL, another English all-rounder Ben Stokes picked by the Chennai Super Kings at 16.25 Cr. But the most surprising player picked by Lucknow Super Giants is Nicholas Pooran at INR 16 Cr.
This is surprising for the fans and experts because Pooran’s performances in the IPL are underwhelming. His record could have been more impressive in the previous season. He has played 14 matches in which he added only 306 runs with the help of two half-centuries.
Speaking on this, Lucknow Super Giant’s mentor cum coach Gautam Gambhir showed his faith in West Indian players and stated that this tournament is not about 500-600 runs, and we are looking at previous season performances, and we believe in him.
“I don’t look at the last season. I look at the player’s ability and impact. This tournament is not about scoring 500-600 runs. That player can win you 2-3 matches in a season, and he has age on his side. You should build your team around him if you can get such a player. He also provides us with longevity in that age bracket have that ability. Pooran will continue to get better as he plays. I always believe that records only make headlines, but impact wins you the tournament,” Gambir said to the media.
Further speaking on Pooran’s role in the LSG squad, I can’t say anything now, but we are looking at every player, and we have the rule of an impact player, so we are trying our best to bring in a replacement.
“I can’t tell you the XI. But we have Marcus Stoinis, Pooran, and Quinton de Kock. Moreover, we will now be having the impact player rule as well. We will make our XI in such a way that if we have to bring in a replacement, we can pick any of these players to bring into the match,” said Gambhir.
