IPL, on Saturday, announced that Lucknow Super Giants have replaced Mark Wood with Shamar Joseph for IPL 2024. The West Indian player joins LSG for INR 3 Crores. He would now play under KL Rahul and Justin Langer in IPL 2024. On that note, here, we take a look at three reasons why LSG picking Shamar Joseph as Mark Wood’s replacement is a debatable move.
1) Shamar Joseph has played just two T20 games
While Shamar Joseph has shown his skills with the red ball, it needs to be noted that he has only played two T20 games so far. Hence, it is a big risk signing the West Indian player.
T20 is a different format and IPL adds further pressure on the cricketers. Hence, not having experience could be a problem for the rising star.
2) LSG needed a more accomplished bowler
Lucknow Super Giants needing an accomplished bowler is one of the reasons why LSG picking Shamar Joseph as Mark Wood’s replacement is a debatable move. Mark Wood was supposed to lead the pace attack for LSG. The other foreign pacers on the side are Naveen-ul-Haq and David Willey.
Actually, LSG needed a more accomplished pacer to join the squad. The player must have been able to replace Mark Wood right from the first game. Yes, not many options are there in the market but LSG could have waited before making the final decision.
3) Shamar Joseph’s injury record is unclear
Shamar Joseph heroically came back from his injury to help his side win the Gabba Test. However, it is not clear if he can do that every time.
IPL is a long tournament and it needs to be noted that Shamar only recently started his cricketing journey. For such players, if an injury strikes, they could spend a long time on the sidelines. This could be a worrying factor for LSG.
