Nicholas Pooran disappointed LSG in IPL 2026 [Source: AFP, AP]Lucknow Super Giants had a forgettable journey in IPL 2026. The team led by Rishabh Pant managed only four wins in 14 matches, finishing tenth on the IPL points table. The credit for LSG's terrible IPL 2026 campaign goes to their batting lineup, which blew hot and cold throughout the competition. Apart from Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis, none of the Super Giants' batters lived up to the expectations, letting their team down with ordinary returns in the tournament. Talking about Nicholas Pooran, the destructive batter from the West Indies registered a string of failures in IPL 2026. Although Pooran stunned Mumbai Indians with a whirlwind 21-ball 63, a majority of his outings ended in massive failures in the LSG jersey. As the Super Giants have concluded their IPL 2026 campaign, here we analyse how costly Nicholas Pooran's every run turned out to be for the Lucknow-based franchise. Nicholas Pooran's IPL 2026 priceRegarded as one of the cleanest strikers of the cricket ball, Nicholas Pooran was LSG's costliest retention ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. The franchise had signed him at a price of INR 16 crore in the IPL 2023 auction. However, his retention amount was significantly higher than the signing price, as LSG retained him for INR 21 crores. Also Read: Rishabh Pant's Replacements: LSG Players In Race To Be Appointed Captain For IPL 2027Thus, Nicholas Pooran's IPL 2026 price was INR 21 crores. He is currently the second-highest-paid player of LSG after Rishabh Pant, who receives an annual IPL salary of 27 crores from the franchise. Additionally, he received 7.5 lakhs per match as match fees. As Pooran played 14 matches, the amount he'll receive for participating is 10500000. So, the total amount that Nicholas Pooran will get for playing in IPL 2026 is 220500000. How did Nicholas Pooran perform in IPL 2026?Nicholas Pooran justified his retention in IPL 2025, emerging as LSG's go-to batter at the top order. With Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram acquiring the opening slots, Pooran brought an element of explosion at number three, slamming 524 runs at an average of 43.67 and a blistering strike rate of 196.25. Although the Super Giants couldn't qualify for the IPL playoffs, Pooran's destructive batting established him as one of the fearsome batters in the tournament. However, the West Indies cricketer was far from his best this year, as he failed to replicate a similar performance in IPL 2026. He could score only 234 runs at a mediocre average of 18 and an abysmal strike rate of 127.87. Nicholas Pooran's cost per run in IPL 2026Nicholas Pooran will receive 220500000 for scoring 234 runs. This translates into approximately INR 942308 per run. This is more than double the amount he received per run in the last IPL season. These stats further indicate that Pooran's efficiency as a batter was statistically halved in this year's IPL.Will Nicholas Pooran be released to IPL 2027 auction pool?Debashis's take on Nicholas Pooran's LSG futurePooran's demotion to the middle order and tryst with a wrist injury adversely affected his performance in the IPL 2026. He was made to bat at four and five, with Rishabh Pant taking up his spot at number three. Additionally, the Super Giants consistently backed Pooran despite his lean patch in the IPL 2026. As the management still rates him highly, we reckon Nicholas Pooran will likely be retained by the franchise for the IPL 2027 season. Also Read: MI vs RR Toss- Why Jasprit Bumrah Isn't Playing Today?
