Lucknow Supergiants accompany Gautam Gambhir© BCCI/IPL
Lucknow Supergiants paid a whopping Rs 16 crore to get the services of West Indies wicketkeeper batsman Nicholas Pooran during the recently held IPL 2023 auction. The amount was considered too high by many as Pooran has not performed consistently in the competition in the past. Pooran has scored just 912 runs in 47 matches in the league and has only 4 scores over fifty to his name. While he had a decent outing last season, he scored 306 points in 14 games with a batting frequency of nearly 145.
The big bid made Pooran the most expensive West Indies player in IPL auction history.
Former India opener and LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir later explained why the franchise decided to break the bank to go for the player.
“I don’t look at last season. I look at the player’s ability and impact. This tournament is not about scoring 500-600 runs. That player can win you 2-3 games in a season, and he has age on his side. If you can get a player like that, do your best to build your team around him,” Gambhir told JioCinema.
“Not only am I looking for this season, it also gives us longevity. Very few players in that age group (27-28) have that ability. Pooran will get better and better as he plays. I always believe that records alone make headlines, but impact wins the tournament,” he added, according to a report from Cricketnext.
Lucknow made it to the playoffs in their inaugural season in 2022 as fellow newcomers Gujarat Titans won the title.
The team hopes to do better than last season and win the title this time.
Featured video of the day
‘Indians should have higher salaries in IPL than foreigners’: Ashok Malhotra
Topics mentioned in this article
