After Lucknow Super Giants‘ (LSG) exit from the IPL 2025 playoff race, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has shared vital feedback for the franchise. Kaif emphasized the importance of investing in consistently available and physically fit players rather than spending large sums on injury-prone cricketers. His comments came in the wake of LSG’s six-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, where they failed to defend a challenging target of 206 at the Ekana Stadium.
LSG’s captain Rishabh Pant had attributed the loss to the absence of key bowlers throughout the season, stating that the team suffered heavily due to a lack of frontline bowling options. Reacting to Pant’s remarks, Kaif gave a straightforward suggestion:
“𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏,” 𝑲𝒂𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. “𝑰𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚-𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑩𝒖𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒈.”
LSG’s Retention Strategy Questioned
Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, LSG retained five key players, including Nicholas Pooran (₹21 crore), Ravi Bishnoi (₹11 crore), Mayank Yadav (₹11 crore), Mohsin Khan (₹4 crore), and Ayush Badoni (₹4 crore). However, two of their retained pacers—Mayank and Mohsin—were either injured or absent for most of the tournament. Mayank Yadav, despite high expectations, featured in only two matches and failed to leave a mark.
As LSG looks ahead to future seasons, Kaif’s advice may prompt the franchise to rethink its retention and auction strategies, ensuring a more balanced and injury-free squad.
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