Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant will bat at number three in what might be a pivotal IPL season that starts on March 28. Going into his second season as LSG captain, Pant has a lot on the line because the team paid a record Rs 27 crore for his services at the 2025 mega auction.
After last year’s disappointment, he could be included in India’s future T20 plans if he has a strong season as a leader and top-order batsman. Pant is only a crucial component of the Indian Test team in all formats; in ODIs, he serves as KL Rahul’s backup wicketkeeper.
After India won the World Cup in 2024, the 28-year-old lost his spot in the T20 team. Given that Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan have become automatic picks due to their recent performances, he will need to do something exceptional to make a comeback.
As a result, maintaining relevance in the shortest format is just as important as delivering on an outrageous price tag in the forthcoming IPL.
Before correctly pushing himself to number three near the end of the season, when it was too late to turn LSG’s fortunes around, Pant batted primarily at number four last season. In order to create room for Pant, Nicholas Pooran will drop down the order, using numbers four, five, and six as floating spots.
In preparation for their opening match against the Delhi Capitals on April 1, the team is now practicing at their home venue in Lucknow after a camp in Chennai. Regarding their leader’s batting position, Pant and the Justin Langer-led support staff are in agreement.
“It is clear to the team management as well as Pant that his game is best suited for number three. This season the top-order is locked in with Aiden, Marsh and Pant. The middle-order is flexible and players will be floated as per the game situation,” PTI quoted an IPL source as saying.
Last year, Pant hit at a mediocre strike rate of 133.17, with 118 of his 269 runs coming in just one inning. Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, and Shabaz Ahmed make up the LSG middle order.
Last season, bowling was LSG’s weakest link since pacers like Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav were sidelined by injuries. Avesh Khan and Anrich Nortje, another quick who is prone to injuries, were the other pace alternatives.
“The batting is settled. The bowling group looks a lot better than last year but combinations are yet to be worked. Mayank is fit but needs to bowl a lot more in the nets. Hopefully he will repay the faith the team has shown him over the past four to five years,” the source added.
Pant is the man who will be under the most pressure in IPL, according to former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis.
“For me, Rishabh Pant is probably the player in the IPL, who is under the most pressure this season. Some guys flourish under the price tag pressure, while some don’t. I think last season was a really tough one for him. The team struggled, and he also struggled with runs in the way that he batted.
“So, there is all that pressure coming into the season, along with the expectations of what the team is going to do. With a batting-heavy team, how are they going to maximize their bowling?
“Because there is pressure on your Captain, scoring runs is your first job. So, if he is scoring runs as a Captain, it takes pressure off in the first instance. But then there is a second instance, which is the team performance, overall. And last year, both of those things had big red crosses against them,” Du Plessis told Jio Star.
