Krunal Pandya explains why LSG left 'world-class batter' Quinton de Kock out of their squad for IPL 2023 Eliminator vs MI

Lucknow Super Giants captain Krunal Pandya has explained his team's thought process behind dropping Quinton de Kock for the IPL 2023 Eliminator match against Mumbai Indians.

De Kock is one of the best T20 players in the world, but he warmed the benches at LSG for the first half of the season because of Kyle Mayers' top performances. He finally got a chance to play when KL Rahul got injured.

While de Kock did a decent job in the four league games he played for LSG, the team management did not name him in their 16-man squad for the Eliminator. When asked about his exclusion, captain Pandya said after the match:

"Obviously, it's always a tough decision. Quinton de Kock is a quality player, a world-class batter, but it's just that Kyle (Mayers) had a better record over here. It was a very tough decision, but we just felt we can go with Kyle at that time."

LSG played a match against the Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium earlier this season. In that game, Mayers scored a 22-ball 53. Looking at that performance, Mayers received a place in LSG's playing XI ahead of the South African keeper-batsman.

"I completely take all the blame for where we ended up" - Krunal Pandya comments on LSG's loss against MI

Krunal Pandya took full responsibility for LSG's collapse [Image: IPL Twitter]

LSG were 69/2 at one stage in a run-chase of 183, with Krunal Pandya and Marcus Stoinis batting well in the middle. However, in the next eight overs, they collapsed to 101 all out. Replying to the question about what went wrong for Lucknow, Krunal Pandya took the entire blame and said:

"We were in a really good position. I guess everything started where I played that shot that was not on and I completely take full responsibility. I mean, in that situation, we should have played better cricket over there, but yeah, I mean, the shot which I played was not on. I completely take all the blame for where we ended up."

LSG have been eliminated from IPL 2023 after the loss against MI. Meanwhile, MI will head to Ahmedabad and take on Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2.