Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) head coach Justin Langer defended the move to send out Nicholas Pooran in the Super Over against the Kolkata Knight Riders, saying the decision was made as the team wanted to back its best player. The call to have Pooran walk out alongside Aiden Markram backfired tremendously as the left-handed batter was dismissed on the first ball by Sunil Narine. Pooran’s poor record against Narine continued, and LSG managed just one run, which KKR chased down in just one ball.
The regular match also saw Pooran disappointing yet again, as he returned with a knock of 9 runs off 12 balls. The 30-year-old was sent back to the pavilion by Varun Chakaravarthy. The match seemed done and dusted with LSG needing 17 runs in the final over. However, Kartik Tyagi’s poor over ensured that the match went down to the Super Over. However, eventually, KKR got past the finishing line owing to Narine’s two wickets of Pooran and Markram.
Speaking about the Pooran move, the former Australia opener and head coach said the decision was taken because the former West Indies captain was familiar with Narine, and the management wanted to capitalise on that.
“We knew that Sunil Narine was the bowler, and if you look at Nicky Pooran’s record, he’s seen Narine more than anyone in world cricket. So, we felt he was still the best. I know he hasn’t hit his form yet, and Nicky will be the first, but we thought if anyone can handle a Super Over, it’s Nicky Pooran. And you back your best players, right? That’s what you do,” Langer told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“So, he has struggled, but if you look at all the numbers, no one plays Narine, the world-class off spinner, better than Nicky, but it didn’t come off unfortunately,” he added.
Before this match between KKR and LSG, Pooran was striking against Narine at 131.08 in all T20S, averaging 49. However, he was also dismissed by the spinner on four occasions in 148 balls. Infamously, Pooran had also played out a maiden Super Over against Narine in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 12 years ago.
‘He’s human’
Langer also defended Pooran’s form in the ongoing IPL 2026 season, saying it’s a matter of time before he comes good. In the eight matches Pooran has played so far, only 82 runs have come off his bat with an average of a little more than 10.
“He’s working on it, and it’s amazing that even big players like him, there’s probably no greater T20 player currently in the world over the last few years, it just goes to show he’s human, and you can’t fake confidence,” Langer said.
“We all try to, you can look like you are confident, but confidence comes from getting your processes right, and we’re working every day with him, and he is working very hard to get it back. Sometimes this is a tough game of cricket, my gosh, it’s a tough game,” he added.
Following their defeat against KKR, LSG slipped to the bottom of the points table with just 4 points from 8 matches.