Former India player Aakash Chopra said Devdutt Padikkal is a great acquisition for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the IPL 2024. Notably, LSG traded in the talented left-handed batter from the Rajasthan Royals (RR) before the IPL 2024 auction. In return, they gave Avesh Khan to the franchise as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “I think Devdutt Padikkal is a fantastic addition. A question will definitely be there about where they should get him to bat. I want him to open. Along with him, Kyle Mayers/Quinton de Kock. My heart says Quinton de Kock because if I play him 14 matches, he will play at least five game-changing knocks.”

However, Aakash Chopra again added that Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, and Marcus Stoinis should be three of the four overseas players in LSG’s playing XI.

“This team has lots of all-rounders. Their overseas bunch is extremely strong. They have Ashton Turner, Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, David Willey, Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Shamar Joseph and Naveen-ul-Haq. So they do have a fairly decent overseas squad and many of them are all-rounders. You can see Marcus Stoinis and Kyle Mayers, and Quinton de Kock is a wicketkeeper. Then you have got Nicholas Pooran, who is a wicketkeeper. Ashton Turner is an all-rounder. There are plenty of options to play around,” he again added.

“Then they have Deepak Hooda. His recent first-class form was very good. Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, and another all-rounder in the form of Krunal Pandya. Deepak Hooda is also an all-rounder. It’s a team filled with all-rounders. They have options in spin bowling. They have Amit Mishra, Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya. So they will have eight overs of decent spin and then they always used Mishra as an Impact Player,” Aakash Chopra concluded.