IPL 2024: No change in LSG captaincy with focus only on winning, suggests assistant coach Klusener

Placed seventh in the table with 12 points, Klusener accepted that Lucknow Super Giants’ inconsistent run this season but was hopeful of a late turnaround.

LSG’s captain Rahul has been LSG’s top scorer this season with 460 runs in 12 innings. But his 136.09 strike rate has been a subject of scrutiny. | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena/The Hindu

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) is not thinking of captaincy change at the moment, with its sole focus on winning the next two matches, its assistant coach Lance Klusener said ahead of Tuesday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Delhi Capitals (DC) here at the Arun Jaitley stadium.

A viral video after LSG’s loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad saw team owner Sanjiv Goenka having an animated discussion with captain KL Rahul, leading to speculations of a possible leadership change for the remaining matches.

However, Klusener denied any such talks. “Certainly no discussions around that (captaincy). I don’t see any problem with some robust discussion between two cricket lovers. It’s a storm in a teacup,” he said.

Placed seventh in the table with 12 points, Klusener accepted that the team’s inconsistent run this season but was hopeful of a late turnaround.

“We would like to be just a little bit more consistent. If we want to win the IPL, we probably have to win five in a row, which I think RCB has just done. So it is absolutely possible. That’s just the big picture, we have to go over the line tomorrow before we have any other aspirations.”

Rahul has been LSG’s top scorer this season with 460 runs in 12 innings. But his 136.09 strike rate has been a subject of scrutiny for which Klusener said, “I think this IPL has been exceptionally tough for him because we have kept losing wickets at regular stages which hasn’t allowed him to kick on where he likes.”

“So I think it is the batting unit around KL, we haven’t been as good as we should be,” the 52-year-old added.

In four matches, Arun Jaitley has been the quickest-scoring ground this season with a run rate of 11.52. However, Klusener said that LSG’s focus will be to avoid losing wickets regularly.

“We are aware it is a fast-scoring ground and fast-scoring grounds normally take care of themselves. I don’t think you need to suddenly try and score faster than you need to,” he said.

“We just need to give batters a platform and that would be our focus, making sure we are not losing wickets at stages where we feel constant need to rebuild.”