IPL 2025: Why is Mohit Sharma not playing in LSG vs DC Match 40?

On Tuesday, April 22, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, the Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals will play Match 40 of the ongoing 2025 Indian Premier League without Mohit Sharma.

LSG, currently ranked fifth, defeated the Rajasthan Royals by a slim margin of two runs. The Gujarat Titans defeated DC by seven wickets in their most recent match. On the points table, they are presently in second place. KL Rahul will face LSG for the first time since the separation.

Toss Update

Delhi skipper Axar Patel won the toss and elected to field first. He attributed his decision to the red soil at the venue as well as the dew which would set in during the second innings. Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, admitted that he would’ve opted to bowl first. However, he shared that his side’s strategy would be to play according to the situation and post a competitive total.

Chameera comes in for Mohit

Dushmantha Chameera was the like-for-like replacement for Mohit. In the seven games Mohit has played in the current season, he has been able to scalp only a couple of wickets while proving quite expensive with an economy rate of 10. Chameera, who impressed for Dubai Capitals in the recent edition of the International League T20, finally got his chance to play in IPL 2025.

What did the captains say?

Axar Patel (DC)

We’ll bowl. Red soil wicket and there was dew in the last game as well. If we bowl well, we can restrict them. We focused on what we did right and areas where we can improve. We aren’t thinking too much. Impact Player – we decide based on the situation. One change – Mohit Sharma is out, Chameera is playing.

Rishabh Pant (LSG)

Definitely (would have bowled first). The way this wicket is playing, it stops a bit in the first innings and as the game goes on, it gets better and better. Hand is okay. (Things to keep in mind while batting first) It’s going to be on the slower side, but gradually it gets better and better as you keep on batting. So not losing too many wickets, that’s the only thing to keep in mind and just playing according to the situation. As a team, we don’t think about what’s happening around us. We are just focusing on where we can improve. We are playing with the same team.

Playing 11s

Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (wk & c), Abdul Samad, David Miller, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav

Impact Substitutes: Ayush Badoni, Mayank Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh

Delhi Capitals: Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmantha Chameera, Mukesh Kumar

Impact Substitutes: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay