Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif thinks the Lucknow Super Giants should concentrate on investing in players who are healthy and regularly accessible, Instead of spending a lot of money on players who have a history of injuries. A six-wicket loss to SunRisers Hyderabad eliminated LSG from the Indian Premier League 2025 playoffs race.

At the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, the visitors easily completed a record chase of 206 runs as LSG's bowling team failed to control players like Heinrich Klaasen and Abhishek Sharma. Following the game, LSG captain Rishabh Pant acknowledged that the team's loss was caused by their unsteady bowling lineup and acknowledged that their front-line bowlers' absence had cost them this season.

Kaif On LSG's Exit

In response to Pant's remarks, Mohammad Kaif said LSG should put more emphasis on keeping players who would probably be healthy throughout the season rather than making significant investments in names that are prone to injuries.

Nicholas Pooran (Rs 21 crore), Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 11 crore), Mayank Yadav (Rs 11 crore), Mohsin Khan (Rs 4 crore), and Ayush Badoni (Rs 4 crore) were all retained by LSG prior to the 2024 mega-auction.

However, Mayank and Mohsin, two of their main fast bowlers, missed the majority of the season due to injury. Even though Mayank Yadav only participated in two IPL 2025 games, he performed far worse than expected, bowling slower and averaging 50 runs per game.

"I would rather pay money to retain players who can play the full season. LSG's entire bowling attack is injury-prone. I’m not saying injuries don’t happen, but for players who are more susceptible to them — stop retaining them for big money. Instead, pick them up at the auction," Kaif said after the match.

LSG was formally eliminated from the playoff competition on Monday, May 19. In what has been a terrible second half of the season, it was their fourth straight defeat. Lucknow will now try to finish their campaign on a high note with two games remaining.