IPL 2024: Why LSG's Nicholas Pooran came out for toss instead of KL Rahul against PBKS?

KL Rahul captained LSG in their first match of the season against RR.

During match No. 11 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), fans got surprised to see Nicholas Pooran walk out for the toss instead of KL Rahul alongside PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan on Saturday evening.

However, after winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pooran revealed reason behind Rahul’s absence at toss. He informed Rahul will play as ‘Impact Player’ in the game so that he can ease out his recovery from injury.

Before coming into IPL 2024, KL Rahul was out of action for close to two months following quadriceps injury during the first test against England in January.

Speaking at the toss, Nicholas Pooran said, “We’ll bat first. Looks like a good track, runs on the board could be vital. KL has an injury and we’re looking to give him a break in such a long tournament, but he’ll play as an impact substitute. Everyone must take the opportunities and perform at their best.”

We would’ve bowled first: Shikhar Dhawan

After losing the toss and asked to bowl first, PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan had no complaint as he wanted to bowl first anyway with dew coming in during second half of the game.

“We would have bowled first, lots of dew when we came to the ground (last night). Our lines cane be tight, while batting, we can’t afford to lose wickets in clusters. It’s still early in the tournament and we’ve spoken about that in the dressing room. We’ll have to make the most of the powerplay. No changes for us,” PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan said during the toss.

It is to be noted that Lucknow’s regular skipper Rahul has been named in the playing XI and he is opening as well. LSG have handed out debuts to Mayank Yadav and Manimaran Siddarth while PBKS have made no changes to their starting XI.

LSG vs PBKS: Playing XI of both teams

Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran(c), Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

LSG vs PBKS: Impact substitutes of both teams

Punjab Kings Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Rilee Roussouw, Tanay Thagarajan, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Bhatia

Lucknow Super Giants Subs: Ashton Turner, Naveen-ul-Haq, Amit Mishra, Deepak Hooda, K Gowtham

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