IPL 2023: LSG leave Quinton de Kock out for Eliminator against MI in Chennai

Lucknow Super Giants made some noticeable changes to their lineup for the IPL 2023 Eliminator against Mumbai Indians in Chennai on Wednesday, with the Krunal Pandya-led side opting against including Quinton de Kock for the crucial fixture.

IPL 2023: Full coverage | Points table | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap​

Skipper Pandya did not offer any explanation behind de Kock’s absence from the lineup. Lucknow, who were invited to bat by Mumbai in the final game of the season at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, started with only three overseas players in their XI with Kyle Mayers named in the Impact Substitutes list, making it likely that the West Indian will come out to bat later in the chase.

With de Kock not playing, West Indian middle-order batter Nicholas Pooran was given wicketkeeping duties.

De Kock, who was part of the title-winning Mumbai Indians sides in 2019 and 2020, had spent a majority of the season along the sidelines with the team favouring Mayers over him for the most part. He did get opportunites in the second half of the season, collecting 143 runs in four appearances at an average of 35.75 and a strike rate above 140, including a 27-ball 28 in LSG’s one-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their final league game of the season.

Five-time champions MI, who made a last-minute entry into the playoffs after Gujarat Titans’ victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the final league game of the season, brought Hrithik Shokeen back in place of Kumar Kartikeya in their only change for the game.

Teams:

Lucknow Super Giants: Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Prerak Mankad, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran(w), Krunal Pandya(c), Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Yash Thakur, Mohsin Khan

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Tilak Varma, Chris Jordan, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal

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