Injury-marred Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have received a massive boost ahead of their match against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The LSG will lock horns against Hardik Pandya-led MI at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Friday.
India pacer Akash Deep joined the LSG camp on Thursday night. The 28-year-old speedster was nursing a back injury that he picked up during the gruelling Border-Gavaskar Test series in Australia.
The TimesofIndia.com has learned that his rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) is on schedule. He even started bowling a couple of days prior to the start of the tournament and was expected to join the LSG camp by the end of March.
Akash Deep is set to be one of India’s main pace bowlers for the Test series in England, which starts June 20, and the Indian team management did not want to rush him back into action. He was given the green signal once he started bowling full throttle in the nets.
Akash Deep’s inclusion will give LSG’s bowling lineup a massive boost. Mayank Yadav’s recovery from a lumbar stress injury was complicated by a toe injury, while left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan was ruled out after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) last December.
Akash Deep has picked up seven wickets from eight IPL games and was bought by LSG in the mega auction ahead of this season for Rs 8 crores.
With Zaheer Khan as LSG’s mentor, the next few weeks will be crucial for Akash Deep to learn the trade of bowling in English conditions from the maestro himself.
LSG have won only one of their first three games in IPL 2025. The match against MI will be a big one for the LSG side to stay in the hunt for the playoffs.
Get the latest IPL 2025 updates on Times of India, including match schedules, team squads, points table and IPL live score for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Don’t miss the list of players in the race for IPL Orange Cap and IPL Purple cap.
