Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 18 : Ahead of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants captain Krunal Pandya said does not want to imitate any other player and wants to play his natural game.
LSG will honour Indian Super League (ISL) champions Mohun Bagan by donning a special edition jersey in their last league match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday night.
The announcement was made on Instagram, with a special post showing captain Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, and Ayush Badoni along with the caption: "Lucknow's #GazabAndaz, now in Kolkata's colours. Our tribute to Mohun Bagan and the City of Joy."
Krunal stated he wants to play his natural game and wants to bring the same to his captaincy by being himself in the middle.
Krunal was named as captain of LSG when KL Rahul was ruled out of the tournament with an injury. LSG has won two of its three matches under Krunal's captaincy, ensuring that their fate is in their own hands as the fight for the playoffs heats up.
"When it comes to captaincy, I don't want to imitate anyone. I want to learn good things from everyone, but at the same time, I want to be myself. And if I be myself and do it my way, then the chances of me doing well for the team are higher," Krunal told reporters in Kolkata as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"I've played cricket hard, I've played cricket in a certain way, and I am applying the same thing here as well," he added.
The Saturday clash between Lucknow and Kolkata is crucial for both teams to remain alive in the playoff race. A win for LSG will help their berth in the top four while Kolkata still has to depend on other teams' playoff place even if they won the game.
The Lucknow Super Giants are on the verge of qualifying for the IPL 2023 playoffs after a five-run victory over the five-time champion Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 16.
LSG are presently third in the table with 15 points from 13 games, having won seven of them, while one game against Chennai Super Kings was called off due to rain. Based on the net run rate, they are somewhat behind CSK.
If Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeats Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on May 18, the franchise would automatically qualify for the knockout stage of the competition, effectively terminating Bangalore's aspirations of achieving 16 points.
Otherwise, LSG must defeat KKR in order to advance to the playoffs.
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