Featuring in the IPL since 2022, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) failed to make it to the playoffs for the first time this season. The KL Rahul-led side finished the 2024 edition with 14 points but an inferior run-rate meant that they missed out on the playoffs spot.
On Friday (May 17), LSG played their last match of the season and registered a convincing 18-run victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium.
After the game, LSG head coach Justin Langer gave a bizarre reason for the team’s underwhelming campaign. He suggested that LSG players lacked intensity after the T20 World Cup squads were announced.
While Langer did not clarify which team’s squad he was referring to, there is a speculation that he might have been hinting at KL Rahul and Ravi Bishnoi – the two major omissions from the Indian side.
"Since the World Cup selection, things seemed to change a little bit. We had a couple of poor games and it really cost us. We played really good cricket through April, but we fell away. It's been disappointing. We had a very good team, we missed a few bowlers due to injuries and that made difference," Langer said at the post-match press conference.
"It's a shame that we were not able to make it to the playoffs," he further added.
Langer also defended Rahul’s batting approach, saying that every player has their unique way of executing their game plan.
KL Rahul opened the batting for LSG and returned with 520 runs to his name from 14 matches this season. However, his cautious approach in the powerplay and overall strike-rate of 136.12 drew him a lot of criticism.
"One area KL Rahul would like to improve is that he got some really good 30s and 40s, and then found someone on the boundary. I think he is a really good player, a really good person. I have heard the criticism, but understand that everyone does it differently. If you play at a strike-rate of 160s throughout, that is very high risk cricket. The game is evolving, I think he will evolve as a player as well," Langer said.
Langer counted himself out when asked about the possibility of joining the Indian team as head coach after the T20 World Cup 2024.
“It would almost be the biggest job in cricket being the head coach of the Indian cricket team because of the huge volume of cricket, the huge expectation. It would be a great challenge, it would be great fun. It would be a wonderful opportunity to win ICC titles, but with all these things, the timing has gotta be right,” Langer said.
“I did four or so years with the Australian cricket team. It’s all-encompassing. It is exhausting and I think someone else like Rahul Dravid will probably tell you the same thing, Ravi Shastri will tell you the same thing. The pressure on winning for the Indian team is massive. So. I’m sure the next person who gets the job will be really looking forward to the project,” he further remarked.
