Rishabh Pant steps down as Lucknow Super Giants' captain after poor IPL 2026
Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer (Source: IPLT20.com)
Published - 29 May 2026, 03:41 PM• Read time - 2 mins
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant has stepped down from his position after a poor campaign in the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026). LSG finished last on the IPL 2026 points table with just eight points from 14 matches.
Pant also didn’t have a memorable time with the bat during the season, scoring just 312 runs from 13 innings at an average of 28.36 and a strike rate of 138.05 with a solitary half-century. In the aftermath of another poor season, Pant relinquished his captaincy, and the LSG management has accepted his request.
“Rishabh approached the franchisee 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, LSG’s Director of Cricket, in a social media post by the franchise.
Official announcement. pic.twitter.com/7WeOwpkDr6
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) May 29, 2026
It was for the second successive season that LSG failed to reach the playoffs under Pant's captaincy. The wicketkeeper-batter was signed by the franchise with high hopes as they shelled out a whopping Rs 27 Crore to acquire his services at the IPL 2025 mega auction, making him the most expensive player in the history of the tournament.
Pant had a good beginning to his tenure in LSG, guiding the team to five wins out of the first eight matches in IPL 2025. However, they still failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing seventh on the points table with 12 points from 14 games.
Who will be LSG's new captain?
With the bat, he was again seen struggling, scoring 269 runs from 13 innings, out of which 118 came in the last match of the season against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Pant captained LSG in 28 matches, winning ten and losing 18.
Earlier, he also served as Delhi Capitals’ captain from 2021-2024 and guided his team to 24 wins in 43 matches, including one playoffs qualification in 2021.
Meanwhile, with Rishabh Pant gone, LSG will now be in search of a new captain for the 2027 edition. Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh could well emerge as the front-runners for the position.
