The Lucknow Supergiants will face the Punjab Kings on the latter’s home ground on Friday, a week after their last game against the Gujarat Titans. LSG will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing loss in that game. The one-week gap between games may benefit LSG, giving them time to make necessary adjustments. Despite being well-placed in the standings, their previous game showed that there is still room for improvement. One area of concern for LSG is Deepak Hooda’s form. His performances have not met expectations, and it may be beneficial for the team to drop him for the next game.
Here, we look at 3 reasons why Hooda should be dropped from LSG for their next match:
1) Hooda’s lack of performance
Deepak Hooda earned a call-up to the Indian national team thanks to his performances in the 2022 IPL and even delivered some good performances for India. However, his batting for LSG in the 2023 IPL has been unconvincing. In seven games this season, he has scored only 41 runs at a strike rate of 80.39. With the tournament at its midway stage, it may be better for LSG to drop Hooda and give someone else a chance to fill his role in the middle order.
2) Recent batting troubles of LSG
Despite being in third place on the points table, LSG has some issues to address, including their unstable batting. KL Rahul’s strike rate has been underwhelming, Marcus Stoinis has yet to fire, and the rest of the line-up has been inconsistent. In their previous game against the Gujarat Titans, LSG failed to chase down an easy target, raising concerns about the reliability of their batting. In light of these issues, having an out-of-form player in the line-up may not benefit the team.
3) Overall performance of Deepak Hooda in IPL
Deepak Hooda’s overall performance in the IPL has been disappointing, with an average of just 18.78 in 102 games. Given this track record, it may be a tough but necessary decision for LSG to leave him out of the line-up. While Hooda has potential, it has not translated into consistent performances in the league. If KL Rahul and the rest of the team decide to drop him, they will not be losing a dominant player.
