Lucknow Super Giants bank on all-round strength
They finished third in the league in their maiden IPL season, and have strengthened their batting by signing Nicholas Pooran
Where LSG finished last season
In their maiden IPL season, Lucknow Super Giants finished third in the league stage with nine wins and five losses, before losing to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator.
LSG squad for IPL 2023
KL Rahul (capt), Avesh Khan, Ayush Badoni, Quinton de Kock (wk), K Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Prerak Mankad, Kyle Mayers, Amit Mishra, Mohsin Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ravi Bishnoi, Daniel Sams, Karan Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Marcus Stoinis, Swapnil Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Manan Vohra, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh
Player availability - Quinton de Kock's late start
Quinton de Kock will join the Super Giants only on April 3, after completing South Africa's ODI series against Netherlands. That means he will miss their season opener, against Delhi Capitals on April 1, and also their second match, against Chennai Super Kings on April 3.
What's new with LSG this year
Super Giants paid INR 16 crore (US $1.95 million approx.) to acquire Nicholas Pooran as a finisher. He provides a wicketkeeping option too.
The good - Krunal Pandya and other allrounders
A bunch of allrounders in K Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Sams and Mayers give the Super Giants a lot of flexibility. Two of the seven bowl offspin, one is a left-arm spinner, three are right-arm medium-pacers, and the other bowls left-arm pace.
The not-so-good - Who after KL Rahul?
An area of concern for Super Giants could be the absence of experienced India players apart from their captain KL Rahul. They have plenty of Indian domestic performers, but Super Giants will need them to consistently punch above their weight.
Schedule insights
Super Giants' season starts with three games in seven days, which includes travel from Lucknow to Chennai and back. Their first six matches are all night games, so they can expect dew to play a part and they will have to figure out how to maximise the new rules on naming their XI after the toss quickly.
The big question
Himanshu Agrawal is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo