LSG accepts Rishabh Pant’s resignation as side’s captain after tenth-place finish
Pant took over as LSG’s skipper after the franchise roped him in for a record-breaking Rs 27 crore in the mega auction held in 2024
Lucknow: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday confirmed that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has stepped down from captaincy duties with immediate effect, a decision accepted by the franchise following the team’s tenth-place finish in IPL 2026.
After leaving Delhi Capitals—a side he previously led in the IPL—Pant took over as LSG’s skipper after the franchise roped him in for a record-breaking Rs 27 crore in the 2024 mega auction.
However, under his leadership, LSG endured back-to-back disappointing campaigns. The side finished seventh last season and slipped further this year, ending at the bottom of the points table with just four wins from 14 games.
“Rishabh approached the franchise with this request and we have respectfully accepted it. 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,” said Tom Moody, the side’s global director of cricket, in a statement on Friday.
Under his captaincy, LSG managed ten wins but suffered 18 defeats across two seasons.
With the bat, Pant, once among the most explosive performers in the league, struggled to replicate his peak form for LSG. Across two years, he scored 581 runs at a strike rate of 135.74—numbers well below his career benchmarks.
A franchise official told IANS on Friday that Pant’s decision to relinquish the captaincy just six days after the side’s campaign concluded isn’t a major surprise, considering he had expressed a desire to step down right after LSG’s season ended on a disappointing note.
“Rishabh was very clear about leaving as LSG’s captain right after the tournament ended. From his perspective, the vision he had for the team as the captain just wasn’t translating into reality. It was also becoming too much for him to balance leadership duties while his primary skill sets, especially his batting form, were not at their best.
“It’s also understood that Rishabh told the LSG coaching staff and management that it would be selfish of him to continue as captain after yet another disappointing season. Furthermore, he wants to prioritize his batting in the long run, considering he is not an automatic pick for the Indian side in white-ball formats,” the official said.
Pant himself admitted during the season that ‘too many minds’ in the leadership group had complicated matters for him as a leader.
Pant’s future as the LSG skipper had already come under scrutiny when Moody hinted at a leadership reset after the team’s final league game loss to Punjab Kings.
“One key thing to note is that Rishabh has high standards, and if he doesn’t meet them—either as a batter, keeper, or captain—he realizes it quickly before anyone else tells him. Moreover, Rishabh was clear that he did not wish to wait until the trading window opened or retention discussions for the next season commenced to speak to coaches and management about his future as LSG captain.
“There was also a feeling within Rishabh that he had let down LSG fans as a leader, which weighed heavily on him. So, ultimately, it was a mix of factors that led to him leaving the captaincy. Subsequently, the franchise accepted his desire to let go of the leadership armband to allow Rishabh to concentrate on his batting,” the official added.