3 players who can replace injured KL Rahul as LSG captain in IPL 2023

In a big blow to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), the team’s skipper KL Rahul has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL 2023 due to a thigh injury he sustained during the team's last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Rahul hurt his right leg while chasing the in the outfield in the second over of the match against RCB. The injury was quite serious and it was evident when he came out to bat at the ninth position against RCB but struggled to bat.

Rahul is expected to travel to Mumbai for medical tests at a BCCI facility after his team's match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Lucknow today. 

Since KL Rahul  has been ruled out of the tournament at a very important stage, the LSG management will have to appoint another captain.

Here are three players who can replace KL Rahul as the captain of LSG:

1. Krunal Pandya: The allrounder is expected to shoulder the responsibility as he is the only Indian player in the team with considerable experience of playing in the IPL. Pandya is second only to KL Rahul in LSG in terms of IPL experience

But on captaincy front, Pandya has no prior experience. He was part of Mumbai Indians for three seasons (2018-2021) in the capacity of an allrounder. This could be a reason why LSG might decide to go for other senior players in the team.

2. Marcus Stoinis: The Australian allrounder can be another good choice if LSG decides to go for an overseas captain. Stoinis has been very good this season with the bat as well as the bowl. He has made 229 runs in 9 matches at a strike-rate of 144.94.

With the ball, Stoinis has 5 wickets in 9 matches and has a bowling economy rate of 8.14. Stoinis was called a captaincy material for LSG by former Australian pacer Brett Lee after his match winning knock of 72 runs against Punjab Kings.

3. Nicholas Pooran: The Caribbean wicketkeeper-batsman is another fine choice as LSG captain. Pooran has been batting at a splendid strike rate of 190.68 this season and being a senior cricketer who has been part of IPL since 2019, he can be considered for the role.

Also, Pooran was the captain of the West Indies cricket team for some time and had to step down only after the team's exit from the first round of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.