The IPL 2025 auction is finally done and dusted, and the teams are locked in. Most of the parties are well settled and have achieved what they wanted. Their auction strategy was understandable as they sought to fill vacant positions.

However, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) made numerous baffling decisions and their auction strategy was shocking. The focus was on getting more bowlers, but even in that department, LSG failed to get quality options.

We identified all the mistakes made by LSG during the formation of their team in the IPL 2025 auction.

No openers tested

This mega auction featured a large group of players and LSG still did not have any quality players to open the innings. Their openers are Aiden Markram and Matthew Breetzke, who have not proven their level in the IPL. Additionally, they have Mitchell Marsh, who historically bats at number 3, and Rishabh Pant, who hasn’t opened in T20 for a while.

There is a young opener Yuvraj Chaudhary but he is also untested at this level. That means LSG must open with Rishabh Pant and an unproven batsman. It can be counterproductive as LSG may not use powerplay correctly.

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Just a proven spin batsman in the middle order

LSG is likely to slot in Mitchell Marsh at the No. 3 spot, who sets the pace. At No. 4, they could keep Nicholas Pooran, a spin hitter. Ayush Badoni struggled with spin last season, while David Miller is a pace specialist.

That leaves a vacancy for a spin batsman to partner Pooran, with the team fielding an array of pace batsmen. Teams that have a quality spin attack can restrict their batting unit easily.

Several starting players are prone to injury

There are at least three players vulnerable to injuries in LSG’s strongest eleven. Mitchell Marsh often gets injured while playing some matches, while leading Indian pacers Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav have a history of injuries.

These three are expected to start every game and can break down at any moment. This also means that they cannot afford to rest and rotate their players at any time. The formation of their team leaves no room for respite for any of the main players.

No depth in backups

The depth of the reinforcements is insignificant, as if the first XI did not already have too many problems. There are no substitutes for most of the first-choice batsmen, and even the bowling substitutes are not very experienced. Most of them have little to no experience playing in the league.

LSG didn’t even think about buying solid players for XI, let alone fielding substitutes. Maybe a few have quality, but only a few have played at this level, and the IPL is several levels above other tournaments. LSG should have looked to cover substitutes with players with some previous experience in the league.

There is no defined XI

If you look at the acquisition of players, it is difficult to form a stable XI. They must play with several players out of position to fill an XI. They spent a huge amount on Rishabh Pant and did not cover other areas adequately.