The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has replaced their Indian seamer Mohsin Khan with Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur, per the latest report. Thakur remained unsold at last year’s mega auction in Jeddah but had been training alongside LSG players since their pre-season camp began. Though an official announcement will soon follow, the report suggests that Thakur has been informed of his inclusion in the squad ahead of IPL 2025.

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A Times of India (TOI) report claims that Thakur will travel with the LSG squad to Vizag for their season-opener against the Delhi Capitals on Monday (Mar 24). 

Also read | KKR vs RCB: Will rain play spoilsport in IPL 2025 opener? Check out Saturday’s weather report

Meanwhile, the lanky seamer Mohsin has been away from action for the past three months due to an ACL injury that he picked up earlier. After recovering in time for IPL 2025, another blow (calf strain) during LSG training ruled him out of action indefinitely; as a result, LSG was forced to make this change.

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Lack of pacers at LSG

Besides him, LSG’s premier Indian pacers, including Akash Deep, Mayank Yadav and Avesh Khan, continue to recover from their respective injuries at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru; all three are yet to link up with the squad. 

Zaheer Khan, LSG mentor, also spoke on the same lines. Without sharing many details on their match fitness, Zaheer underlined the side’s approach this season as their chase for their maiden IPL title continues. 

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"The situation is dynamic for some of our players due to injuries. But it’s time that we look for positives and adopt things to tackle the situation amicably. Some players are at the National Cricket Academy and others are spending time with their physios. Right now, it will not be right to say anything about this. The situation will be dynamic this season,” Zaheer said in a media interaction, as quoted by Times of India.

However, to begin with, Shardul will lead LSG’s pace attack (for being the most experienced of the lot), with seamers uncapped Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Prince Yadav waiting in the wings for their chance. West Indies’ Shamar Joseph is the lone overseas seamer in the LSG squad. 

Though LSG has a settled squad at the helm, they still need their injured Indian quicks to recover in time and be available for most of the tournament. 

(With inputs from agencies)