The Lucknow Super Giants are in a bit of a pickle right now. They’ve only won one match in the 2025 Indian Premier League, and they definitely don’t want to be the second team to rack up three losses. This Friday, they’ll face off against the Mumbai Indians, and they’ll be hoping to build on their 5-1 record against Mumbai. So far, they’ve won both games at their home turf, the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, and they’d like to keep that trend going. Losing again at home would only add to their frustrations, especially since they’ve been a bit unhappy with how their home pitch plays.
With a lot happening around the team, the Super Giants really need to get back on the winning track. Their recent struggles are starting to create some unnecessary drama between their owner, Sanjiv Goenka, and their captain, Rishabh Pant.
Now, let’s talk about potential changes to their lineup. Aiden Markram’s performance has not been impressive, scoring only 44 runs with an average of 14.66 and a strike rate of 125.71 over three matches. It might be time for Lucknow to give Matthew Breetzke a chance. He’s been the second-highest run-scorer for Durban’s Super Giants in the SA20 league and has shown much better form than Markram in the last year.
In terms of batting, Lucknow’s core lineup is likely to stay the same, but some of the middle-order guys like Rishabh Pant, Ayush Badoni, and David Miller really need to step up and deliver. Abdul Samad has been performing at a striking rate of 245, which is the highest this season, but he might be benched to make way for another all-rounder, Shahbaz Ahmed. Samad could still be brought in as an Impact Player, but the team is hoping to have at least six bowlers, especially since their bowling economy is currently over 10 runs per over.
As for the bowling lineup, Akash Deep is back in action; he’s fit to play after being out since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25. He’s likely to take Avesh Khan’s spot in the starting eleven. Lucknow’s bowling has been a key issue so far, with guys like Shardul Thakur, Avesh, and Ravi Bishnoi all conceding more than 10 runs per over. Since Thakur can contribute with the bat, and they probably don’t want to drop Bishnoi just yet, Avesh seems to be the one on the chopping block for this match against Mumbai.
So, here’s what the Super Giants’ lineup might look like against the Mumbai Indians: Matthew Breetzke, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (captain and wicketkeeper), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Ravi Bishnoi, and Digvesh Rathi. The possible substitutes include Abdul Samad, Avesh Khan, Manimaran Sidharth, Prince Yadav, and Himmat Singh. Let’s see if they can turn things around!