Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: It turned into a memorable evening for several Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) players before their IPL 2026 clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) as cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar hosted the team for dinner. Since Sachin’s son, Arjun Tendulkar, is part of the LSG squad, a number of players attended the gathering, including captain Rishabh Pant, pacers Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan. Photos from the dinner quickly went viral on social media.
Mohsin Khan later shared pictures from the evening on Instagram and called Sachin the “God of cricket”. He wrote, “An evening with the God of cricket. Blessed!” while also thanking Arjun for arranging the dinner.Both Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants have struggled badly this IPL season and are fighting to stay alive in the playoff race. Mumbai, led by Hardik Pandya, have managed just two wins in nine matches and are near the bottom of the table. Their campaign has also suffered because of inconsistent performances from key players like Suryakumar Yadav and the absence of Rohit Sharma due to injury.LSG’s story has been quite similar. After a decent start, they lost momentum and slipped to the bottom after five straight defeats. Captain Rishabh Pant has also faced criticism over his form and leadership. In the previous game, Mohsin Khan’s brilliant 5/23 went in vain as LSG failed to finish the job.With the season entering a crucial phase, both teams need their senior Indian stars to deliver. Hardik Pandya’s captaincy and all-round form have come under scrutiny, while Suryakumar Yadav has struggled to convert starts into big scores. On the other side, Pant will be hoping to guide LSG back to winning ways during a packed schedule of important matches.
