IPL 2022: Lucknow Super Giants sign Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani as Mark Wood’s replacement – Report

Lucknow Super Giants have signed Zimbabwean fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani as a replacement for Mark Wood.

The England pacer was signed by the new franchise for a whopping amount of INR 7.5 Crores in the IPL mega auction but he was ruled out of the tournament due to elbow injury and he has decided to take an indefinite break from the game.

LSG wanted to sign the services of Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed but the Bangladesh Cricket Board official confirmed that he wouldn’t receive a NOC for IPL 2022 as he is currently on the South Africa tour and he is also included in the Test series squad against the Proteas.

It has been reported Blessing Muzarabani could replace Mark Wood but the official confirmation from the franchise is yet to be released.

The official Twitter account of the Embassy of India in Zimbabwe wrote, “Ambassador met with Mr Blessing Muzarabani, the Zimbabwean bowler, as he prepared to leave for #IPL2022. Ambassador wished him & his team #LucknowSuperGiants the very best. #IndiaAt75 @IndianDiplomacy @MEAIndia.”

On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants will be led by KL Rahul in the upcoming season. Rahul believes the bio bubbles have brought the team together during the Covid-19 era.

“I think the bubbles have brought the team together. We’ve gotten to know each other a lot better. We end up spending a lot of time with each other. I think the last series and the West Indies series at home really got to me. The first few bubbles I did manage. Because I kept asking myself, ‘Where else can I be? What else can I do?’ Nothing. Cricket is the only thing I am good at and this is the thing I have chosen, so I owe it to myself.”

The Super Giants will begin their campaign against Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 28th March.

LSG Squad: Batters: Manish Pandey, Manan Vohra, Evin Lewis

Wicketkeepers: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock

Allrounders: Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Krishnappa Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma

Bowlers: Mark Wood, Dushmantha Chameera, Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav