Mark Wood, the English paceman, has been ruled of the Tata IPL 2022 due to an elbow injury suffered in the first Test of England’s tour to the West Indies. Lucknow Super Giant spent an expensive sum of Rupees 7.5 crores at the IPL Mega Auction 2022 to outbid other franchises and gain the services of English fast-bowler for the 15th edition of the IPL.
The newly formed franchise betted heavily on Wood’s lethal pace to form the core of their pace attack at the tournament. With Mark Wood ruled out, it is highly possible that Lucknow Super Giants will look for an alternative as soon as possible before the sporting event begins on 26th March.
Lucknow Super Giants are now left with only one premium overseas fast-bowler, Dushmantha Chameera, in the squad. However, Chameera is still a new prospect in the international arena and lacks the experience needed to counter the high-pressure situation at IPL.
Mark Wood, the English pace gun, has played only one IPL game so far, in which he proved to be highly expensive. However, his international record in T20i is phenomenal and getting better with each game for England. Till now, he has dismissed 26 batters in the 19 T20is; he has played for the England cricket team.
After Jason Roy and Alex Hales, Mark Wood is the third English player who was sold at the auction but will not be playing the tournament. However, both Roy and Hales cited bubble fatigue and mental stress as their reason for opting out of Tata IPL 2022, but Wood is ruled out due to a genuine elbow injury.
Lucknow Super Giants, the newly born franchise, will be led by KL Rahul, the former Punjab Kings skipper in Tata IPL 2022. LSG will inaugurate their tournament against Gujarat Titans at Wankhede Stadium on 28th March.
Also Read: Aaron Finch replaces Alex Hales at KKR: IPL 2022