Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer faced yet another tough set of questions at a critical press conference after his side slipped to a loss against Mumbai Indians in their IPL 2026 encounter on Monday. The defeat left LSG rooted at the bottom of the points table, managing just two victories from their first eight matches. With the franchise\u2019s playoff hopes fading and the campaign nearing its end, the discussion naturally widened to multiple concerns inside the team\u2014yet the spotlight remained firmly on Rishabh Pant\u2019s captaincy and the choices that have defined his run so far.<\/p>\n
Pant\u2019s form has been under scrutiny, and so have the frequent changes to the batting order. In the clash versus Mumbai, LSG opened with Josh Inglis alongside Mitchell Marsh, while Nicholas Pooran was promoted to bat at number three. Pant came in at number four, but his knock lasted only 15 runs before he was dismissed. When asked to explain Pant\u2019s output and how the team plans to get him back to his best, Langer pointed to what had worked in a recent training setting\u2014while also acknowledging that the same momentum did not carry into the match.<\/p>\n
Langer said, \u201cWe played a practice game here two days ago, and Rishi\u2014I’m not sure of the exact final score\u2014maybe 95 off 40 or 30 balls. You look at that and you think, \u2018Oh my gosh, that\u2019s Rishabh Pant at his very best.\u2019 So he\u2019s a very good player; we know that. We\u2019ve seen him in Test cricket destroy teams at number five. Given that, and the way he played just two days ago after a seven-day break, we felt it might be a good option for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coach also stressed that Pant\u2019s decision to adjust his own batting position was not driven by strategy alone, but by a selfless intent to maximise the team\u2019s impact. Langer highlighted how the captain\u2019s move initially paid off in the sense that it created room for Pooran to take control.<\/p>\n
Langer added, \u201cHe selflessly moved down the order to let Nicky P bat, whose batting was unbelievable. So yeah, Rishi\u2019s not far off. As a captain in the IPL, or as a coach, you\u2019ve got to keep fronting up, don\u2019t you? That\u2019s all you can do, and he\u2019ll keep fronting up and hopefully help us get some wins over the next few games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another theme of the press conference was the weight that comes with expectations attached to Pant\u2019s price tag. Lucknow had secured him for a record fee of Rs 27 crore after he left Delhi Capitals, making him the most expensive player in IPL history at Rs 27 crore. Langer was asked whether that label\u2014and the pressure it carries\u2014has been affecting Pant\u2019s performance. However, the coach played down the financial aspect and instead focused on the broader challenges of leading a side in high-stakes T20 cricket.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t think the money has anything to do with it; I don\u2019t think that has anything to do with it at all. What I do think is that leadership is a tough position\u2014you\u2019re carrying lots of pressure, and he knows that. He\u2019s carrying a lot of pressure for the team, and he does it, like all of us, with a smile on his face 98% of the time. The other 2% of the time, it\u2019s tough. But he\u2019s chipping away, he\u2019s working hard and, as I say, he\u2019s had a match-winning game earlier in the season. We love it when we see him smiling and playing that swashbuckling style of play, and he\u2019s not far off.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer faced yet another tough set of questions at a critical press conference after his side slipped to a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026: Justin Langer Questions LSG After MI Loss","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"IPL 2026: Justin Langer grills LSG after MI loss\u2014two wins in eight, bottom of the table, and Rs 27 crore concerns spark fresh doubts.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n