Sunil Gavaskar said Nicholas Pooran should bat at the No. 3 position if KL Rahul plays at No. 4 for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2024. However, Rahul will reportedly bat in the middle order for LSG in the IPL 2024 to put forth his case for a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad as well. Notably, the Lucknow-based franchise has traded in Devdutt Padikkal from the Rajasthan Royals (RR), presumably with an eye on using him as an opener as well.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gavaskar said: “They are a good team. They have been a team which has somehow always played above their potential. If they continue to do that, they will be in the periphery of the top four all the time. KL Rahul might bat at No. 4, Nicholas Pooran can bat at No. 3.”

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Nicholas Pooran, the more overs that he gets, the more destructive he can be. I saw in the Major League Cricket, he was just sensational. So clearly I think Pooran needs to get a few more overs,” Sunil Gavaskar added. “Quinton de Kock, the opening bat. Devdutt Padikkal, who they have bought, might be the opener with him. So I think their batting seems to be definitely sorted. It’s the bowling where they need to do a little bit more so that they continue to be in the top four.”

However, apart from Quinton de Kock, LSG have Kyle Mayers too. While Marcus Stoinis and Krunal Pandya are likely to bat in the middle order alongside Rahul and Pooran, they can pick between Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni and Prerak Mankad for their rest of the batting positions as well.

“Good chance of being there. They have somebody who will really egg them on in Justin Langer, somebody who played his cricket totally with his heart on his sleeve. If the players can do the same for Lucknow, then certainly they will be in with a good chance,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.