Former India batter Manoj Tiwary and Rohan Gavaskar have now joined the chorus of voices urging Lucknow Super Giants to make a major leadership change. With LSG’s IPL 2026 run effectively in jeopardy after their defeat to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, both former cricketers said the franchise should consider removing Rishabh Pant from the captaincy so he can concentrate solely on batting. Their central argument: the extra responsibility is draining his impact in T20 cricket.
Pant arrived at Lucknow ahead of the 2025 season and was appointed skipper by owner Sanjiv Goenka. Yet his output last year was modest for a player expected to drive the middle overs, as he scored 269 runs across 14 innings at an average of 24.45. This season has seen only a small improvement in runs—204 in nine matches—but the numbers have become more concerning in terms of tempo, with a strike rate of 128.30 and just one fifty.
Quick facts
- LSG are under pressure in IPL 2026 after losing to Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
- Manoj Tiwary and Rohan Gavaskar want Rishabh Pant relieved of captaincy to focus on batting.
- Pant joined LSG in 2025 and was named captain by owner Sanjiv Goenka.
- 2025 record: 269 runs in 14 innings (average 24.45).
- 2026 record so far: 204 runs in nine matches (strike rate 128.30, one fifty).
- Suggestion for captaincy consideration: Aiden Markram.
Both Tiwary and Gavaskar believe the role of skipper has weighed on Pant’s batting. They pointed to the reality of pressure management in T20s—when results wobble, the captain feels it most, and that can show up in shot selection and risk-taking. In their view, Pant should be freed from those demands so his natural destructive batting can return.
Gavaskar also referenced Goenka’s earlier comments about building a long-term legacy with Pant at the franchise. He said there comes a point where teams must take players out of the “firing line” during a tough phase, even if the original plan was to keep them in charge for a decade or more. After this season, the franchise should decide whether to continue with Pant as captain, Gavaskar argued, insisting it would be better for him to play without the extra burden.
“When the team performs badly, that pressure also falls on the skipper,” Gavaskar said, adding that relieving Pant of captaincy would allow him to bat with more freedom. In short, the former opener felt the batting side of Pant’s game needs protection from the added mental load that leadership brings during a campaign.
Tiwary’s stance was even more direct. He suggested that under captaincy pressure, Lucknow may be losing the batter Pant can be—someone who has previously proven his ability at international level and in the IPL. With runs not arriving in the current season, Tiwary said it would be best for LSG to “release him” from the leadership responsibility and let him focus purely on batting.
Who could take over?
With the captaincy question growing louder, the discussion naturally turned to replacements. LSG already have South Africa T20I captain Aiden Markram in their squad, and both the leadership profile and batting role make him a logical candidate. Markram has been particularly successful as a leader in the SA20, steering Sunrisers Eastern Cape to back-to-back titles in the first two seasons, in 2023 and 2024, while also contributing consistently as a top-order batter.
The idea of Markram as captain was not entirely new. A week earlier, Wasim Jaffer had made a similar suggestion, arguing that Markram’s temperament and leadership experience could help extract the best from teammates. In his view, Markram is mentally strong and composed, and he believes the franchise would benefit if the captaincy move were to be made.
Jaffer had also admitted that such a change might not actually happen, but framed it clearly as his own recommendation. “If I were there, that’s what I would do,” he said, pointing to Markram’s record and steadiness as the key reasons behind his preference.
