Following a terrible 2026 IPL season in which the Lucknow Super Giants finished last out of ten teams, dashing keeper-batter Rishabh Pant was sacked of his captaincy on Friday.
Tom Moody, Director of Cricket at LSG, confirmed the reports on May 14 that Pant would no longer be captain.
“Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) wish to formally announce that Rishabh Pant has requested to be relieved of his captaincy duties with the franchise, and the franchisee has accepted his request with immediate effect,” the franchise said in an official statement.
“Rishabh approached the franchisee with this request and we have respectfully accepted it,” Moody was quoted as saying in the media release.
“These decisions are never easy. We are grateful for everything Rishabh has brought to this dressing room as captain. Our focus now is on the collective rebuilding and restructuring to reach the best standards,” the former Australia all-rounder added.
After speaking with people keeping tabs on developments, it is very apparent that the 28-year-old Pant may not want to remain a player and may be traded or put up for auction. It was a terrible season for him as a batter, scoring just 312 runs in 14 innings.
Pant should now focus on becoming the best batsman he can be in Test cricket before moving up the white-ball ladder once more, as chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar noted. It’s time for him to look beyond his role as captain and focus on his potential as a batter who can help India win games.
Under the mentorship of Gautam Gambhir and captaincy of KL Rahul, the Lucknow Super Giants were respectable in their first two seasons and qualified for the playoffs. But after Gambhir went for KKR during the 2024 season, things began to deteriorate.
Alarm bells were raised by the fervent LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka’s public rant on Rahul following a humiliating loss. There was a prevalent suspicion that this specific franchise doesn’t provide its players enough room to grow.
It was believed prior to the 2024 auction for the 2025 season that Pant, who is unquestionably the most sought-after player at the auction, will surpass the Rs 25 crore threshold. Goenka paid Rs 27 crore for Pant. Goenka stated at a lavish launch in Kolkata that Pant is an investment for “15 years” and that he saw a “in-born leader” and possibly the “best captain of IPL” in him.
Rishabh Pant and Justin Langer were never in agreement. They were awful, to put it mildly, and, if one must be cruel, they were impoverished.
The lack of a reliable Indian name on the coaching staff—Bharat Arun, despite his respect—did have a negative impact. It didn’t help that Goenka and his think tank had spent one-third of their whole budget by paying Pant Rs 27 crore and keeping an injured and wasteful Mayank Yadav for Rs 11 crore.
Pant batted at various spots in the beginning and began moving further down the order after failures, which didn’t help either.
Moody’s arrival further complicated matters, and many who have observed closely would claim that foreign coaches—particularly the Australians—always have their vote of confidence when it comes to LSG owners. However, who made the decision that LSG would use an all-Indian attack in the absence of any good international strike bowlers? Was it Pant or Langer? Or the owners?
The next issue is player selection, as it is unclear how Himmat Singh got into the starting lineup and why Ayush Badoni wasn’t benched right away. After a few games, why wasn’t Nicholas Pooran given a break and why was Arshin Kulkarni used? The execution was also impacted by the glaring lack of preparation and homework, which further illustrates how out of sync Pant and Langer were.
The most telling image came from the second-to-last game, when LSG was unable to defend a total of 220 points. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hit like a tornado, hitting 93 off 38 balls, after Pant’s batting at the end cost them at least 20 runs.
The owner and members of his immediate family, including children, were inside the arena after the game, but not with Pant. The children desired to meet a little older 15-year-old genius with plump cheeks. You could tell that LSG had emotionally moved on from Rishabh Pant at that moment. Formality was all that remained in terms of professionalism.
