"Something fishy right?" - Fans react after Deepak Hooda loses his spot in LSG playing XI in Krunal Pandya's first match as captain in IPL 2023

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are set to square off against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 45th match of IPL 2023 on Wednesday, at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. But the home team received a massive blow ahead of the contest, as KL Rahul was ruled out due to the injury he sustained in their previous match against RCB on Monday.

Krunal Pandya has taken over the reins in Rahul's absence. CSK captain MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to field first on a dry surface. After recovering from injury, Deepak Chahar returned to the CSK playing XI, replacing Akash Singh.

LSG on the other hand brought in Manan Vohra to fill the void left by KL Rahul in the opening slot. They also replaced Deepak Hooda with Karan Sharma in the top order.

Hooda has been poor with the bat so far this season, scoring a paltry 53 runs at an average of 6.63 across nine games.

Several fans took note of the LSG team management's decision to drop Deepak Hooda from the playing XI and expressed their reactions on Twitter. Some referenced the history between Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda and claimed that it might have played a part in the decision.

Here are some of the best reactions:

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"The morale of the team is high, we have played some good cricket" - Krunal Pandya after losing the toss in LSG vs CSK IPL 2023 clash

Speaking at the toss, Krunal Pandya admitted that losing KL Rahul was a big blow. However, he claimed that it gives the fringe players an opportunity to step in and display their skills on the big stage.

"We wanted to bat first in fact had we won the toss," Pandya said. "So it's even Stevens for both the teams. We don't know how the wicket will play though it is home conditions for us. So we want to go and play without pressure as batters. It's a big loss losing KL."

"He's a quality player and captain of the team," he added. "But it creates an opportunity for the other players. The morale of the team is high, we have played some good cricket. So we're looking forward to it again."