Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes that if Lucknow Super Giants’ Nicholas Pooran doesn’t turn things around for himself with the bat in the ongoing Indian Premier League, he is likely to be replaced by Josh Inglis, when the Australian returns, ahead of their clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswammy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
The former West Indian batter has had a very sub-par IPL season thus far as per the standards set by him. Pooran has been one of the fiercest batters in the league for quite some time, with the southpaw scoring 500 runs each in the last two seasons.
“His strike rate is not even 100. He hasn’t been scoring at all,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel. “If he doesn’t sort it out quickly, he could be in trouble because Josh Inglis is a very good player, and there will be pressure on Nicholas Pooran when he joins the camp.”
The Australian wicketkeeper-batter, Inglis still hasn’t joined the LSG camp. He had initially informed about his limited participation in IPL 2026 due to his wedding, but the final date of his joining is yet to be confirmed.
On the other hand, Pooran, this season, has only managed 41 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 85.41. This in turn has positioned some of the run-scoring burden on the Indian contingent in the franchise, especially captain Rishabh Pant, who is currently one of the top run-getters for the franchise.
“He batted at No. 3 last year but has now been moved down the order. Another thing, his foot gets planted early. That’s why he is not in form. More than technique, I feel the issue is in the head, or there is some health issue. One of these two things are bothering Nicholas Pooran,” Pathan added.
The management understands the issue with their overseas batters and have gone on to label them as the ‘sleeping giants’, who they believe will fire away at the right moment. LSG will hoping that these giants wake up on time as they face in-form Punjab Kings in Mullapur on April 19, following today’s encounter against RCB.
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