Rishabh Pant has stepped down as captain of Lucknow Super Giants following the franchise’s 10th-place finish in the IPL 2026 points table. The wicketkeeper-batter, brought in ahead of the 2025 season for a record INR 27 crore, struggled to justify the price tag as Lucknow missed the playoffs in both of the last two editions. In IPL 2026, LSG managed only 4 wins from 10 matches, and Pant’s interactions with broadcasters often appeared flat after games.
With Pant stepping aside, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh have emerged as leading candidates to take over the captaincy role. On Friday, Lucknow confirmed that the decision came directly from Pant, with the franchise accepting his request immediately. The team is now preparing for a new phase under its current coaching setup led by Justin Langer.
Quick facts
- Rishabh Pant stepped down as Lucknow Super Giants captain after the team finished 10th in the IPL 2026 points table.
- Pant joined LSG before IPL 2025 for a record fee of INR 27 crore.
- LSG won 4 of their 10 IPL 2026 matches and failed to qualify for the playoffs in the last two IPL seasons.
- LSG said Pant requested to be relieved of captaincy duties, and the franchise accepted the move immediately.
- Justin Langer remains the coach, while Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh are tipped as frontrunners for the next captain.
In an official statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Lucknow said Pant asked to be relieved of his captaincy responsibilities and that the franchisee agreed to the request right away. The franchise added that the decision was not an easy one, while also expressing gratitude for what Pant had contributed to the dressing room as captain.
LSG further indicated that the immediate priority will be a structural overhaul, saying the focus would shift to “rebuilding and restructuring to reach the best standards.” The franchise also acknowledged that Pant had approached them with the request, and that they had accepted it after respectful discussions. It emphasised that the next steps will be driven by a collective effort rather than one individual.
Pant’s IPL 2026 batting numbers
On the field, Pant’s IPL 2026 season with the bat was well below expectations. He scored 312 runs in 14 matches, averaging 33.61, and posted a strike rate of 146.79. The campaign began with him being tried as an opener, but that top-order role lasted only a single match before he was moved down the order.
From there, Pant started batting at No. 3, and later in the tournament he was pushed further down in the batting order. His returns improved compared to the previous year, when he managed 269 runs, but his overall output still failed to match the standards LSG had set for him. The franchise’s context also mattered: his 2025 numbers were made significantly less bleak by a century in LSG’s final group-stage match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
After LSG’s last match of the season, director of cricket Tom Moody gave a clear hint that change at the leadership level was being considered. Speaking following the seven-wicket defeat to Punjab Kings, he said that from a captaincy standpoint Pant had found it challenging and that the results reflected those struggles.
Moody also stressed that the franchise had not met the expectations or the standard it sets for itself. He added that leadership would be examined seriously for the future and that the situation “certainly” called for a reset, underlining the need for a change in direction rather than minor tweaks.
Across multiple stages of the 19th edition of the T20 league, Pant had also pointed towards issues within the support setup, suggesting there were too many coaches in the staff. Those comments fed speculation about the environment in the dressing room and added pressure to the already fragile captaincy narrative.
