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Former India batter Wasim Jaffer delivered his verdict on which players the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) should retain and which they should release.
LSG finished their season with a loss against the Punjab Kings on Saturday. Unless anything dramatic happens on Sunday, LSG are almost sure to finish last on the IPL 2026 points table.
LSG in IPL 2026
After starting with two wins in their first three matches, the Rishabh Pant-led team went on to lose six matches in a row. This losing streak put both Pant and the team on a downward spiral that made them the first team to be officially eliminated from playoff contention.
LSG have won just 4 of their 14 matches in IPL 2026 and have now been eliminated from playoff contention for three seasons in a row. There has been a lot of speculation over what LSG's next moves going into IPL 2027 will be.
I would definitely retain Mitchell Marsh- Wasim Jaffer
Jaffer was speaking on his YouTube channel when he responded to comments asking for his opinion on which players LSG should let go.
“Mitchell Marsh, after that, I would also retain Pant, but I would release him and then buy him back cheaply. And even Nicholas Pooran, for that matter. Josh Inglis is also there with you; you should not let him go either," Jaffer said.
While Marsh and Inglis have been the bright spots of a dark season, Pant and Pooran have not been that. Marsh has been LSG's highest run-scorer in IPL by some distance. He has made 563 runs in 13 matches at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 163. He also made 3 fifties and a hundred.
Rishabh Pant did finish as the team's second-highest run-scorer, but his numbers are not up to the standard of a good performance in this tournament, especially in this day and age. He has made just 312 runs in 14 matches at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 138. He also managed just one half-century.
Nicholas Pooran found some form after a dull start to the tournament, but his overall numbers do not make for pretty reading. In 14 matches, he made 234 runs at an average of 18 and a strike rate of 128 with one half-century.
Josh Inglis was the only LSG batter other than Marsh who could genuinely walk away feeling that he had a good season with the bat. Despite playing just five matches, he ended up as the team's third-highest run-scorer with 266 runs. Inglis had an average of 53 and a strike rate of 186 with 3 fifties.
He deserves to be retained- Wasim Jaffer on the uncapped pacer
Jaffer also had kind words to say to uncapped pacer Prince Yadav. Yadav was recently called up to the India squad for the ODI series against Afghanistan next month.
With 16 wickets in 14 matches, he was LSG's highest wicket-taker this year. His wickets came at an average of 29, and an economy of almost 9 runs an over.
“In the bowling department, I mean, Prince Yadav has done well, so he deserves retention in my opinion. I don’t think, even though he may not have been that effective in the last few matches, but in a losing team, one that is already at the bottom of the table and eliminated, the results also affect you in some way. But even the way he has bowled in tough situations, I think he deserves retention,” Jaffer concluded.
Also Read: Rishabh Pant asked to quit LSG captaincy ahead of IPL 2027 by CSK great
