Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are no longer just losing games now. They are losing matches they should be winning. Against Mumbai Indians, they blasted their way to 123/1 in just eight overs and still somehow finished with only 228. Then their bowling, which has been their stronger suit, failed completely against MI’s batting, which hasn’t shown up many times this season.
LSG are bottom of the table with just two wins and mathematically hanging by a thread. Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), their next opponents, need just one more win to reach 14 points. That’s the difference. If LSG win their remaining five games, they will end up on 14 points. Meanwhile, RCB can go top of the table today with the same points.
Rishabh Pant now has little option but to start planning beyond just results. That should mean backing players who can genuinely become long-term assets. Digvesh Rathi is one of them. Right now, keeping him on the bench makes little sense.
Why Digvesh Rathi must return for LSG
The biggest selection call for LSG should revolve around their bowling attack. Avesh Khan’s struggles have become impossible to ignore. Across six matches this season, he has conceded 229 runs in just 124 balls, operating at an economy of 11.08, comfortably the worst economy rate of his IPL career.
Avesh Khan IPL 2026 stats
MatBallsWktsBestAverageEconomySR612452/2345.8011.0824.8Even last season, Avesh went at 10.28 per over. This year has been worse. He still has decent match-up numbers against Virat Kohli, dismissing him four times in T20s, but LSG can no longer pick bowlers purely on old data when the current form is this poor.
Then comes the Digvesh Rathi issue.
Rathi has quietly been LSG’s best defensive spinner this season. He controls lengths, bowls flatter through the middle overs and gives Pant a genuine wicket-taking option when surfaces slow down. Yet, he has suddenly disappeared from the XI while left-arm spinner M Siddharth has continued to get chances.
Against Mumbai, Siddharth leaked 47 runs in four overs. Yes, he picked up two wickets, but most of the damage was already done by then. LSG desperately need someone who can stop momentum in the middle overs. That is exactly what Digvesh offers.
There should also be a serious temptation to test another Indian pacer. Mayank Yadav is the obvious high-upside option if fit enough. If not, LSG could even look at Akash Singh or Arjun Tendulkar. At this stage of the tournament, experimentation makes more sense than persisting with combinations that clearly are not working.
Predicted LSG Playing XI vs RCB
Batting OrderPlayer1Mitchell Marsh 2Josh Inglis 3Nicholas Pooran 4Rishabh Pant (c & wk)5Aiden Markram 6Akshat Raghuwanshi7Himmat Singh8Mohammed Shami9Mohsin Khan10Mayank Yadav / Akash Singh / Arjun Tendulkar11Prince Yadav12Digvesh RathiPredicted LSG Playing XI vs RCB: Rishabh Pant should bring Digvesh Rathi and drop Avesh Khan Inside Sport India.
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