LSG suffer another blow, star pacer leaves IPL 2023 midway for birth of his daughter

LSG IPL 2023 (Source: Twitter)

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) star pacer Mark Wood is returning to England for the birth of his daughter. The Lucknow-based franchise gave the update late on Sunday night with a video posted on its social media accounts. The English seamer said in the video that he is expected to join the team in the later rounds of the tournament, but this seems doubtful as he was seen getting autographs from his teammates before leaving the camp.

Wood began his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season with a bang, picking up five wickets against Delhi Capitals (DC). The right-arm speedster, who has taken 11 wickets in five matches this season, has been instrumental in LSG's success in the early stages. However, he was down with flu and Naveen-ul-Haq came into the mix to replace him and Wood didn't get another chance.

The 33-year-old is the third LSG player to miss the remainder of the tournament. Earlier, captain KL Rahul and left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat were ruled out for the 2023 season due to injuries.

"For the birth of my daughter. So, sadly, but for a good reason to go home. Hopefully, I might be able to come back and hopefully, you will be able to see me again. I am sorry that unfortunately I have not played more and in the four games that I have managed to play, I have managed to get a few wickets and hopefully, I can charge in again," Wood said in the video.

"It's a great team togetherness here. I really love the team, the backroom staff are fantastic and it has been great to see the lads do well over different parts of the tournament," he said.

Watch the video below: 

We're so happy for you, Woody. You'll be missed! 🥹💙 pic.twitter.com/4KKd2BVmtX

— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) May 7, 2023

"One last push and get into those playoffs":  Wood

The franchise shared the video after their tough loss against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. LSG were in the game until the midway mark when Kyle Mayers and Quinton de Kock got going, but a superb comeback from GT bowlers made the game look one-sided as they won by 56 runs. LSG had a good chance to reach the second position in the points table, but a loss against the defending champions forced them to settle for third place with 11 points from 11 matches.

"One last push and get into those playoffs and make it to the finals. That's the goal and as a group, we understand that. It is tough in sports, you win some and you lose some but the lads are training hard. There are some fantastic characters in the group and they really try everything for your team. So keep believing and back them up, and I am sure they'll come good," Wood concluded.