Another English player will miss IPL 2024, at least the first half. David Willey who switched to Lucknow Super Giants at the auction has conveyed to Lucknow Super Giants that he would not be available for the initial stages of IPL. He played the PSL 2024 final for Multan Sultans immediately after the ILT20 for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. However, LSG have not announced a replacement as they believe Willey could return at some stages of the tournament.
Lucknow Super Giants coach Justin Langer confirmed that David Willey is unavailable after Mark Wood pulled out due to workload management.
“With Mark Wood pulling out of the tournament and also David Willey won’t be coming now either, that means we lack some experience. But what I’ve also seen in the last couple of days is that we have enormous talent. Some of our guys have had some injuries but they all look very fit at the moment,” Justin Langer was quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.
Inexperienced pace attack
Lucknow Super Giants banked heavily on Mark Wood to lead their pace attack. Left-arm seamer David Willey would have been the second-choice if he had missed out.
Now, LSG would have to bank on 24-year-old Shamar Joseph in their RR vs LSG opener on March 23. Marcus Stoinis will also play a key role as he could come in handy as the third seamer if required.
However, it goes without saying that they will miss the experience of the English pace duo. But Justin Langer has identified young Indian pacer Mayank Yadav who could fill in the void.
“Mark Wood is a world-class bowler, isn’t he? And he pulled out after the auction, which is disappointing but this is the world we live in. We also have Shamar Joseph. We have Mayank who bowls with very good pace. Hopefully we can replace, not experience, but his pace with Shamar Joseph and Mayank. He’ll be missed – of course he’ll be missed, he’s a world-class bowler – but this is the world we live in and we will adapt and we will be okay,” Justin Langer added.
LSG Fixtures
LSG Full Squad for IPL 2024
KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, Mohd Arshad Khan, David Willey (Unavailable),
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