IPL 2026: Who is Manimaran Siddharth? Young spinner replaces Anrich Nortje vs SRH
Who is Manimaran Siddharth, the young spin all-rounder, who has replaced the right-arm pacer, Anrich Nortje, for the Lucknow Super Giants against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League 2026.
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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) began their campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 with a defeat against the Delhi Capitals (DC) at home. At the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihar Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, the home side made a strong start inside the power play with consistent wickets but failed to carry the same momentum after a partnership was built.
They made their trip to the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad to lock horns with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who opened their account during their second fixture of the competition against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.
Manimaran Siddharth replaces Anrich Nortje for LSG against SRH
The Lucknow captain, Rishabh Pant, won the toss and decided to bowl first. It was a bit of a surprising decision from the captain, who, despite calling it a surface that would go slow in the second innings, opted to bowl first as they have full faith in their strong batting department.
Pant revealed the team management’s decision to bring back Manimaran Siddarth in place of the South Africa right-arm pacer, Anrich Nortje. Siddarth has been part of five games for the franchise in the league and has picked up three wickets at an average of 46 and an economy rate of 8.62.
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Manimaran Siddarth has the great ability to break a partnership of go dry in the middle overs. The left-arm spinner can be a good option for dealing with three overs or the full quota against a strong-looking right-handed dominant batting of the Hyderabad side, who were excellent in that phase against KKR in the previous clash.
Manimaran Siddharth’s domestic record
The 27-year-old spinner has overall bagged 30 wickets in 13 innings of the first innings cricket at an average of 22.93 and a strike rate of 52.90, with the help of two four-wicket hauls, thanks to the best figures of 4/32 in an innings. In the 17 innings of List A cricket, he has pocketed 26 wickets at an average of 23.26 and an economy rate of just over four.
In the shortest format, Siddarth has claimed 24 wickets in 17 innings at an average of 15.50 and a fine economy rate of under seven. LSG will hope to see the spinner go through a good spell of bowling against a power-packed SRH batting.
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