IPL 2023: 3 players from Durban Super Giants that LSG might target at auction

Lucknow Super Giants played some exciting brand of cricket in the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and reached the playoffs in their debut season itself. Ahead of the IPL 2023 auction, LSG have let go of seven of their players. Courtesy of the releases, LSG will enter the marquee event with INR 23.35 crore in their kitty.

As the Lucknow franchise bids for glory in the next season, one of the auction strategies that LSG could employ is investing in players who are part of their SA20-owned franchise, Durban Super Giants. The Durban squad contains many established performers of the T20 circuit and KL Rahul & co. could try to sign a few of them at the forthcoming marquee event.

Here are three players from Durban Super Giants LSG might target at the auction:

3. Reece Topley

Reece Topley has been a proven performer in the T20 circuit. The 28-year-old has featured in 131 games in the shortest format and bagged 168 wickets at an economy of 8.22. He has proven his mettle in the international arena too and picked up 22 scalps in as many T20Is at an economy of 8.30.

The lanky pacer uses his height to great effect and extracts bounce from even the docile surfaces. Topley can make the ball talk at the start of the innings and rattle batters with his swing. Also, he is quite impeccable at the death overs and can nail pin-point yorkers at will. The left-arm pacer offers a complete package with the ball and LSG could be interested in signing him.

The Lucknow franchise signed Dushmantha Chameera at the 2022 mega auction to add more bite to the bowling attack. However, he was not able to perform as per expectations and picked up only nine wickets in 12 games leaking runs at an economy of 8.73. Following the Sri Lankan pacer’s dismal campaign, LSG parted ways with him.

With Chameera released, Rahul & co. could go fishing for top-drawer bowlers at the upcoming auction and they could look at someone like Topley to bolster their pace attack. Therefore, Lucknow could make a bid for the England seamer at the marquee event.

Read: IPL 2023: Predicting 5 most expensive players ahead of upcoming auction