The Lucknow Super Giants’ acquisition of West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph has been hailed as thrilling by former Indian batsman Aakash Chopra. For the Indian Premier League’s 2024 season, Shamar Joseph was signed by LSG to take Mark Wood’s place, the England express pacer.
Prior to the IPL 2024 auction, Wood, who was first acquired for ₹7.50 crore, was one of the players that LSG retained. However, Joseph was signed by LSG on Saturday, February 10, 2024, after the player’s services had been acquired for Rs 3 crore. The West Indies bowler gained fame after his valiant performance against Australia.
Shamar Joseph was exceptional for the West Indies in their most recent victory over Australia in the Brisbane Test. With an injured foot, the right-arm seamer recorded figures of 7/68 in the second inning as the West Indies won by a mere eight runs to level the two-match series.
It was expected that Mark Wood won’t be available for entire season – Aakash Chopra on LSG signing Shamar Joseph
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra stated that after making the playoffs the past two seasons, LSG will be aiming for a podium finish. He insisted that Joseph might help them achieve this objective.
“The Lucknow Super Giants have signed Shamar Joseph. The Lucknow franchise needs to move forward as they reached the playoffs for two consecutive seasons. Eventually, you want to finish on the podium and maybe with the trophy in hand. So for that, they have now kept Joseph,” said Aakash Chopra.
In his two Test matches played thus far, Joseph has taken 13 wickets. He will take over for Wood, who participated in the IPL for just the second time last season and claimed 11 wickets in four games, including a five-wicket haul against the Delhi Capitals.
“It was probably expected that Mark Wood won’t be available for the entire season. However, before that itself, they decided – Mark Wood bye-bye, Shamar Joseph hi-hi. So Joseph has become a part of this team,” he added.
Shamar Joseph’s story started from there and where it’s reached- Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra continued, calling Joseph’s signing captivating and praising his journey to success as beautiful as it was. At the Gabba, Joseph was the standout player for the West Indies as they defeated Australia by a remarkable 8 runs. In 36 years, this was the West Indies’ first victory at the Gabba. Shamar Joseph was praised by Aakash Chopra for rising to great heights from a humble beginning.
“It is the story of a woodcutter. His entire village works as carpenters. So his story started from there and where it’s reached – it’s beautiful. So Shamar Joseph will be playing in the Indian Premier League. He has got a very good contract, it’s exciting,” he stated.
They were close to the top of the table but lost the final- Aakash Chopra on Durban Super Giants’ great run in the SA20 2024
The former cricket player turned commentator mentioned that the Durban Super Giants, the sister team of LSG, had a fantastic season in the recently finished SA20 league before falling in the final match of the season.
“By the way, their Durban Super Giants also played very well throughout the SA20. They were close to the top of the table but lost the final. They just did not turn up in the final. However, their journey till the final was very good,” said Aakash Chopra.
On Saturday, February 10, in Cape Town, the SunRisers Eastern Cape defeated the Durban Super Giants by a score of 89 runs in the 2024 SA20 final. After choosing to bat first, they amassed a massive 204/3 and bowled out Keshav Maharaj and co. for 115 to seal a decisive victory. The SunRisers Eastern Cape received praise by Chopra for their successful SA20 title defense.
“SunRisers Eastern Cape, on the other side, two trophies in two years. They played extremely well. They have started creating an early dominance. Durban Super Giants were extremely ordinary last year but have played very well this year,” he reflected.