IPL 2023: Big blow to KL Rahul’s LSG as star pacer is set to miss later stage of the season

KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mark Wood will not be the part of the LSG side in the final stage of IPL 2023 as he has to attain the birth of his daughter. Mark Wood and his wife Sarah will become parents of their second child towards the end of May for which English pacer will fly home in coming weeks. With the League stage ending on May 21 it is very unlikely that the 33-years-old will return back to India for the tournament even if his team reaches the play offs.

Wood, who is currently out of the team due to illness, had a dream start of the season with a fifer (5 for 14)  in his first match against Delhi Capitals and is the top contender of the Orange Cap this season with 11 wickets in just 4 matches. KL Rahul has currently picked Afghanistan seamer Naveen-ul-Haq on Wood’s behalf who has bowled well in his first two matches.

Lucknow Super Giants will play their match against Shikhar Dhawan’s Punjab Kings on April 28 and then they have two home games against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore and MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Games on May 1 and May 3 respectively. All further games are extremely crucial for the Giants as they are currently standing with 8 points with four other teams and they would not want to let any opportunity slip by. 

What impact would Wood’s absence make? Only time will answer this question but as of now  Naveen-ul-Haq is fulfilling the gap of an International pacer pretty well.