The buzz around the rebranded Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) team is high ahead of the new Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The Shaheed Path highway in Lucknow, which leads into the city from the airport, is dotted with flags and cutouts of the host side\u2019s players on the eve of their campaign opener against Delhi Capitals at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s dark blue and orange have made way for navy blue and red as the Super Giants hope that a change in jersey colours, along with a new logo, will help them turn over a new leaf. However, with a largely intact batting core and an injury-prone seam attack, helmed by the out-of-favour veteran Mohammed Shami, will it be a case of \u201cThe more things change, the more they stay the same?\u201d<\/p>\n
Skipper Rishabh Pant, who has been sidelined from India\u2019s white-ball teams, will have a point to prove, both as a leader and player. He capped off his underwhelming IPL season last year with a scintillating unbeaten 118 at No. 3, a position he slotted in at only once earlier in the campaign. The wicketkeeper-batter\u2019s spot in a power-packed top four, comprising Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran, will be crucial.<\/p>\n
Pant\u2019s former team, Delhi Capitals (DC), doesn\u2019t enjoy the same abundance at the top of the batting tree. It tried seven different opening combinations last year and ended the season with the lowest first-wicket average (21.78). The addition of Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka, along with KL Rahul, could address that concern. On the bowling front, Mitchell Starc\u2019s absence could be ridden out by Jammu and Kashmir pace sensation Auqib Nabi.<\/p>\n
The restrictive duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav will have its task cut out at a traditionally spin-friendly venue that has increasingly become challenging for the slower bowlers. Add spin-basher Pooran to the mix, and their duel could be match-defining.<\/p>\n
LSG and DC began their respective campaigns last year with this very fixture, with the latter squeezing out a tense one-wicket win in a 210-run chase.<\/p>\n
Both teams eventually frittered away promising starts and fell short of a Playoffs berth. They will hope history doesn\u2019t repeat as they begin another pursuit of a maiden title.<\/p>\n
Published on Mar 31, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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