IPL 2026 has not gone the way Rishabh Pant would have wanted, with his struggles continuing to raise fresh doubts about his impact in T20 cricket. The concerns have been building since 2024, but midway through the 19th season they have started to take on an added edge—questions about his captaincy have now come to the forefront. On Monday night, Lucknow Super Giants suffered yet another damaging result, sliding to a sixth straight loss and a seventh defeat overall. They were beaten by Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, and the outcome kept LSG rooted to the bottom of the points table.
Former India batter Rohan Gavaskar, in conversation with Cricbuzz, revisited the expectations that surrounded Pant when he was snapped up at the mega-auction for IPL 2025. LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka had envisioned Pant quickly evolving into a leadership figure comparable to the game’s modern benchmarks, hoping he could soon be spoken about in the same breath as MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma—both of whom have delivered massive success as IPL captains. So far, Pant has not managed to meet those high standards.
Manoj Tiwary, who was also part of the discussion panel, pointed to a specific contrast that helps explain why Pant’s leadership has looked different from the approach of Dhoni and Rohit. Looking back at the match versus Mumbai, Tiwary said Prince Yadav stood out as the only LSG bowler who genuinely held things together. While many of the other bowlers conceded at close to 12 runs per over, Yadav kept things tight with an economy rate of eight, even though he did not take a wicket.
Tiwary linked that discipline directly to a clear plan—Prince Yadav’s consistent execution of yorkers. In his view, the other bowlers failed to land those deliveries often enough, and that made the difference. He argued that yorkers remain one of the most effective tools in T20 cricket, particularly when a captain can set a bowling template and enforce it across the attack. Tiwary went further, suggesting that Pant could have reacted more decisively by bringing in Arjun Tendulkar, potentially as an Impact Player, given that videos show Tendulkar bowling yorkers during net sessions.
“Pant is also losing out on tactical moves. In the match against Mumbai, Prince Yadav was the only economical bowler, and that was because he was executing yorkers. As a captain, you should have told the other bowlers to follow that plan. I even saw videos on social media, posted by LSG, showing Arjun Tendulkar bowling yorkers in the nets. So Pant could have brought him in. This is where MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are different as captains,” Tiwary said.
Arjun Tendulkar, however, has not yet taken the field for Lucknow in this season. He was traded from Mumbai Indians before the campaign began for INR 30 lakh. Across the broader IPL landscape, his appearances have been limited as well—he has played only five matches over five different seasons. Tendulkar’s IPL debut came in 2023 for Mumbai against the Kolkata Knight Riders, where he took his first wicket. He added two more wickets during that same season, but the following year he appeared in just one match.
With the tournament effectively drifting toward its final phase for LSG, the focus for the franchise may now shift to whether their squad depth can deliver better outcomes in the remaining fixtures. Lucknow still has five games left, and with results already going against them, they could look to test their bench strength before firming up their direction for IPL 2027.
