IPL 2023: KL Rahul reveals the reasons behind LSG’s purchase of Nicholas Pooran
IPL 2023: Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul revealed the reason behind the franchise’s purchase of Nicholas Pooran for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season ahead of their clash against four-time champion Chennai Super Kings.
Speaking to Star Sports, Rahul said, “This year we felt like we needed someone in the middle order who can be explosive and can also give us some finishing skills so Nicholas Pooran was a big buy for us and we were very excited again.”
Pooran was bought for 16 crore LSG which made him the most expensive wicket-keeper in the hory of the competition. He has played 47 IPL matches and scored 912 runs which includes four 50s.
“We want to pick players who put their team first” 💪– .@klrahul on how they’ve built their squad for season 2@LucknowIPLTune-in to #CSKvLSG on #IPLonStarToday | Pre-show at 6 PM & LIVE action at 7:30 PM | Star Sports Network#ShorOn #GameOn #BetterTogether #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/Jeh5hNmXIh
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 3, 2023
Rahul also spoke about how the team wanted players who will put the team first and can contribute in both departments. “The kind of team we picked we were very clear about the individuals we wanted and speaking to Sanjiv sir and Gautam Gambhir and the rest of the support staff that we will try and build a team of players who put their team first who are team players and who can contribute in two areas of the game,” he said.
“I feel T20 is heading that way and we have also seen that. Successful franchises are filled with all-rounders. So we’re very clear about getting a lot of all-rounders in our team so if you see we started with retaining Stoinis and we got KP (Krunal Pandya), we got Jason Holder and Hooda who can bowl a few overs and did bowl a few overs last year. It goes on,” the LSG skipper added
Speaking about his players, Rahul said, “I Have played with these guys before. I know what kind of guys they are first and again what they can do obviously as cricketers and what skills they bring to the team. I think all of those things help in terms of getting the team and combination right.”
“We will have to play good cricket and understand what works for our group and play the best cricket and be as aggressive and fearless as we can. A few things we learnt (from the 2022 IPL Season) is that when you are on high confidence and momentum going your way it is important to utilize it and go at it and be fearless and not complacent,” he concluded.
