Nicholas Pooran’s LSG axing all but confirmed! 3 batters who can replace him in playing XI

The Lucknow Super Giants struggled with their bowling depth in the last edition, as a result of which they made several adjustments to strengthen their bowling attack. They brought in the likes of Mohammed Shami and Anrich Nortje, aiming to strengthen the attack.

In this season, their bowling has been promising on most occasions, with Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan and Prince Yadav delivering among pacers; however, their spin has struggled to an extent. But LSG's biggest concern has been the lack of runs from their batters, who were in prime touch in the last season.

The Rishabh Pant-led side has seen a disappointing dip in Nicholas Pooran's form, despite the left-hander being their most experienced as well as most explosive batter. He missed out on another occasion against the Punjab Kings, when LSG were chasing a massive target of 255 runs.

Nicholas Pooran, the dangerous batter from Lucknow Super Giants, has failed to fire this season and might be axed from the playing XI as his poor form continues in this edition of the IPL. Here are three players who might replace the veteran batter in the LSG XI.

Three LSG players who can replace Nicholas Pooran in the XI:

Himmat Singh

The Lucknow Super Giants have made some promising picks from the Indian domestic units, as Himmat Singh remains one of those picks. He was first brought into the IPL by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru back in 2019, and then LSG bought him in the IPL 2025 mega-auction.

Himmat Singh is yet to make an impact in the IPL, as despite having played three games off the bench in the last season, he has not faced a ball. The left-handed batter missed a majority of the domestic season for Delhi in 2025, but has a promising record in T20 cricket. He has amassed 967 runs in T20s while striking at 133.56 for Delhi.

Josh Inglis

Australian wicket-keeper batter Josh Inglis is often regarded as one of the finest players of 20-over cricket among modern cricketers. He made his IPL debut last season with the Punjab Kings, after the Ricky Ponting-led side bought him for INR 2.60 crores.

He played a promising season, amassing 278 runs in just 11 matches, and struck the ball at 162.57 while averaging 30. He was released by PBKS due to his unavailability in the initial part of the competition, but was acquired for a whopping INR 8.60 crores by the Super Giants.

Iglis is a consistent and promising option in the middle order, and he would make the return of Nicholas Pooran a tough job if he gets going for the Super Giants once he returns to the IPL.

Matthew Breetzke

Nicholas Pooran batted in several positions in the batting order but has failed to produce anything special this season. South African right-handed middle-order batter Matthew Breetzke could be one of the promising batters to replace Nicholas Pooran.

Though he had just played one game in the IPL for the Super Giants in 2025, Breetzke has a promising record in white-ball cricket for the Proteas. He has also amassed over 3500 runs in over 140+ games in the global T20 circuit. Breetzke could be the immediate replacement for Nicholas Pooran until Josh Inglis joins the LSG camp.

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