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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were reportedly interested in the 20-year-old Afghanistan spinner AM Ghazanfar, who played for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2026, before trading in Kuldeep Yadav from the Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of the IPL 2027 season.
As of now, there are no further updates on the potential deal between LSG and MI for Ghazanfar. LSG are among the most active franchises in the off-season, ahead of another Indian Premier League season, and are desperate to reshape their squad.
Lucknow Super Giants to cash in on AM Ghazanfar?
During a RevSportz online discussion between two journalists, it was revealed that Lucknow was interested in the Afghanistan spinner. In a massive move, LSG traded out Rishabh Pant to Delhi Capitals to bring in Kuldeep Yadav from Delhi to bolster their spin bowling strength, which was mostly dependent on the uncapped Indian spinner Digvesh Rathi in the previous season.
Rathi was among the most highlighted spinners during the IPL 2025 season because of his aggression and wicket-taking abilities. The Delhi-born, who took 14 wickets in the 2025 IPL, claimed only 5 scalps in the 2026 season.
Why does LSG need quality spinners in their team?
Super Giants finished tenth in the 10-team points table with only four wins in fourteen matches. To improve their performance, the franchise has taken a significant step by removing their captain Rishabh Pant from the team to bring in Kuldeep Yadav.
In the RevSportz video, Subhayan Chakraborty, a journalist, claimed that the Lucknow Super Giants wanted to cash in on the Mumbai Indians spinner AM Ghazanfar, as they wanted to include a mystery eliminator in their team. They showed interest in the Afghanistan spinner before the Kuldeep Yadav deal.
He also mentioned that Sanjiv Goenka and the LSG have a good connection with the Afghan cricketers, so the deal between Lucknow and Mumbai for the spinner was possible. Currently, there is no significant update on the possible deal.
“Lucknow Super Giants were quite interested in trading for Ghazanfar before the Rishabh Pant trade and the acquisition of Kuldeep Yadav. I had done a tweet on July 1st... LSG is trying to trade one mystery spinner,” Subhayan Chakraborty said in the video.
Why does AM Ghazanfar want to leave the Mumbai Indians?
He also claimed that the spinner himself was not happy with the Mumbai Indians, as the team was going through a turbulent phase with uncertainty over the captaincy as well; AM Ghazanfar wanted to leave the franchise, and maybe he will leave the team ahead of the 2027 season. As there is no current update on the spinner, it is difficult to say where the spinner will play in the next season.
“It was clear he wanted to leave... 99% chance that you will see Ghazanfar leaving Mumbai Indians,” the journalist said.
IPL 2026 was the debut IPL season for the Afghanistan spinner, who featured in eleven matches for the Mumbai Indians. In eleven matches, he took 15 wickets for an expensive economy rate of 10.01. He was the top wicket-taker for MI in IPL 2026.
