LSG players Nicholas Pooran and Mayank Yadav in picture. (FILE)Lucknow Super Giants Retained Complete Player List with Price for IPL 2026: LSG released Ravi Bishnoi after having placed a lot of faith in retaining him before the mega auction, with the spinner being let go after a less than impressive season to go with the rise of Digvesh Rathi. LSG have also let go of David Miller and Akash Deep while retaining most of their core.
Much like the Delhi Capitals, LSG began the previous season strongly, winning five of their first eight games. However, the tide turned near the business end, as the Rishabh Pant-led side lost five of their last six matches to finish seventh in the standings with 12 points.
Lucknow have been active ahead of the retention deadline. They have conducted three separate all-cash deals in an attempt to revamp their squad and free up purse value for the upcoming auction. The franchise traded pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur to the Mumbai Indians for Rs. 2 crore.
LSG have also been shopping, acquiring veteran Indian pacer Mohammed Shami from Sunrisers Hyderabad for a hefty sum of Rs. 10 crore. To further consolidate a pace attack that was marred by injuries last season, they also brought in Arjun Tendulkar from the Mumbai Indians for Rs. 30 lakh.
Speaking on JioHotstar, head coach Justin Langer explained the tough calls the team had to make: “As we know that, the hardest thing is to make the phone calls and contacting people who released. There are so many talented players in India and only so many you can retain. Shami is a competitor, a real warrior. As a past coach against him, India were always in the fight when he is there. The biggest sleepless night as a coach is having the fast bowlers fit. Australia have just lost Hazlewood for Ashes first, that’s a big dent, so you want to have as many fast bowlers. You talk about heartbreaks; there is no better person than Ravi Bishnoi. His energy is unbelievable, he will get picked up in the auction.” He added that the rise of Digvesh Rathi and having M Siddharth too in their ranks meant they took the call to let Bishnoi go.
The big question confronting the LSG management was whether to release express pacer Mayank Yadav, who continues to struggle with injuries. Releasing Yadav would have freed up Rs. 11 crore from their purse. However, the franchise has retained him.
LSG retained their core including skipper Rishabh Pant, Mitch Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran.
When there is a mega auction, there is a limit to the number of players, be it overseas or the Indians, that the squads can retain. But this time around, as it is not a mega auction, teams can retain as many players as they wish to. Despite the flexible rules, the franchises need to have 25 players at most, and the purse for each franchise will be around 120 crores.
Rs 22.95 crore (6 slots to fill)
Mohammed Shami (Rs. 10 crore), Arjun Tendulkar (Rs 30 lakh).
When there is a mega auction, there is a limit to the number of players, be it overseas or the Indians, that the squads can retain. But this time around, as it is not a mega auction, teams can retain around as many players as they wish to. Despite the flexible rules, the franchises need to have 25 players, and the purse for each franchise will be around 120 crores.
Rishabh Pant (C), Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Arjun Tendulkar (Trade in), Mohammed Shami (Trade in), Mayank Yadav,
Shardul Thakur (trade out), Aryan Juyal, David Miller, Yuvraj Chauhdary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Akash Deep, Ravi Bishnoi
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