Rishabh Pant has stepped down as captain of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) after the franchise ended the IPL 2026 league stage at the very bottom of the points table.<\/p>\n
Pant conveyed the decision to the team on Friday, and LSG confirmed the change through a statement issued by the club\u2019s director of cricket, Tom Moody.<\/p>\n
\u201cRishabh approached the franchisee with this request and we have respectfully accepted it,\u201d Moody said. \u201cThese 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 \u2014 rebuilding and restructuring to reach the best standards.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old Pant became LSG\u2019s second captain following KL Rahul, who captained the side for three seasons from 2022 to 2024. After being released by Delhi Capitals, Pant was snapped up by LSG at the IPL 2025 mega auction for INR 27 crore (around USD 3.21 million), a deal that made him the most expensive player in league history at the time. In his first message to LSG, Pant said he would give \u201c200%\u201d for the team and expressed excitement about a fresh start, adding that he was \u201clooking forward to have a new beginning with new energy and just have a blast out there, and have lots of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the optimism, results proved tough for Pant and LSG. Under his captaincy, LSG won 10 matches and lost 18, placing seventh in IPL 2025 and then finishing tenth in IPL 2026.<\/p>\n
Pant\u2019s personal batting output also struggled across both campaigns. He managed 269 runs in IPL 2025 at a strike rate of 133.16, and followed it with 312 runs in IPL 2026 at a strike rate of 138.05.<\/p>\n
Moody had already hinted that leadership would be reviewed after the season. Immediately following LSG\u2019s final league fixture against Punjab Kings last week, he suggested that a captaincy discussion would form part of the post-season assessment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do have to wonder whether that is a pressure that is reflected with his performance with the bat,\u201d Moody had said. \u201cI know that this season has been a difficult season for us, but we will reflect on it, we\u2019ll take time, we\u2019ll reflect on it. We\u2019ll consider all things.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the official statement, Moody did not spell out any specific timeline for naming Pant\u2019s replacement. It now remains to be seen whether LSG \u2014 owned by the RPSG group \u2014 will choose to wait for the next IPL auction, expected in December, before appointing a new captain.<\/p>\n
LSG\u2019s overseas senior group includes players such as Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran, and those names are widely viewed as potential candidates for the leadership role.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rishabh Pant has stepped down as captain of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) after the franchise ended the IPL 2026 league stage at the very bottom…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026: Rishabh Pant Steps Down as LSG Captain","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Rishabh Pant resigns as LSG captain after IPL 2026\u2019s last-place finish, with Tom Moody confirming the decision and outlining the next leadership move.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n