"LSG must show faith in Manish Pandey" - Pragyan Ojha

Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha stated that the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) should continue to persist with Manish Pandey, despite his recent underwhelming outings. He believes that the franchise must back the right-hander as they do not have any other contenders for the No. 3 spot.

The former cricketer made these remarks while speaking on Cricbuzz. He pointed out that LSG's experiment of promoting Krishnappa Gowtham to No. 3 backfired during their clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 10. He feels that there are no other players in their lineup who'd be comfortable playing in that position apart from Pandey.

He explained:

"If you have picked Manish Pandey, then you must show faith in him. They can afford to be patient with him. Otherwise, you will give Manan Vohra a role that he may not be comfortable in. We saw how Krishnappa Gowtham also wasn't comfortable batting at that position."

Former India opener Virender Sehwag also echoed Ojha's sentiments. He suggested that even if Pandey continues to fail in a few more matches, he has the ability to score big when it matters the most.

Sehwag said:

"LSG do not have anybody who can come in place of Manish Pandey at No. 3. Evin Lewis is a foreign player and Manan Vohra is an opener. I don't believe Vohra is a better option than Pandey. Now that they don't have options, they should let Pandey play more games. It doesn't matter if he flops in 2-3 games, but maybe he can come up with a match-winning performance during a crucial match."

Meanwhile, Pandey has come under the scanner for his lack of form in this year's cash-rich league. He has managed just 66 runs from six games so far and has a batting average of 14.67.

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"It won't make much of a difference for LSG if Avesh Khan doesn't play 1 or 2 games" - Virender Sehwag

LSG pacer Avesh Khan missed the IPL team's previous fixture due to a niggle. Sehwag opined that the fast bowler must take time to recover from the same.

He highlighted that the side have a lot more matches to play in the tournament and it would be a massive blow for them if the bowler gets injured again.

He added:

"Avesh Khan should only come back into the side once he is completely fit. LSG have played just 8 matches and have a lot of matches to play. It won't make much of a difference if Avesh Khan doesn't play 1-2 games. But it would be a problem for them if he plays in the next fixture and gets injured during the game."

The Lucknow-based side will next be seen in action later today (April 29) when they take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 42nd league match of the season. The contest is scheduled to be played at the MCA Stadium in Pune.