Mayank Yadav missed out as Lucknow Super Giants face Punjab Kings in their sixth match of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. Yadav has already been declared "ready" by LSG director Tom Moody to play in the Indian cash-rich league; however, he still finds himself on the bench.
LSG captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to bowl first on a pitch that looks good to bat on. Pant confirmed there is one change to their Playing XI as Manimaran Siddharth came in for Digvesh Rathi. However, there was no Mayank yet.
"We are going to bowl first. Coming here, we want them to set a total for us. They've been one of the best teams in the tournament, but at the same time, it gives us the freedom that we can play more freely with them. Generally, I feel, playing for 220 runs is better than playing for 200 sometimes. (Manimaran) Siddharth comes in, and Digvesh Rathi misses out. (And that elbow is fine?) Much better (smiles)," Pant said at the toss.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer was content with batting first. "(Do you mind batting first?) Not at all. I feel that it's a great challenge for us, and going forward in the tournament, at least we'll have a fair idea about how to go in the first innings, since we haven't batted first so far. So it's a great challenge for the boys as well, and as a collective team effort, it would be a great challenge," Iyer said at the toss.
On how he refreshes himself and maintains the same energy every game, Iyer said, "I had mentioned previously as well, I feel that you keep getting better every now and then... You challenge yourself. It's about us versus us. It's not about who we are playing or the opponents we've got on the other side. But I personally feel that if we stay in the present, in the moment, and see to it that we embrace the opportunity, I think collectively we'll be coming out as triumphs."
Iyer said that there are still areas to improve on. "Yes, absolutely, a comprehensive win. We've played so many matches in the tournament, but there is still a moment that we haven't fulfilled yet. So it's important that this game is the one where we go in all together, see to it that we put our best foot forward and have that comprehensive win as I mentioned. We're going with the same team," he said.
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Mukul Choudhary, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth, Mohsin Khan
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh(w), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Lucknow Super Giants Impact subs: Abdul Samad, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Matthew Breetzke, Mayank Yadav, Himmat Singh
Punjab Kings Impact subs: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Vishnu Vinod
