Rishabh Pant steps down as LSG captain

Rishabh Pant has stepped down as captain of Lucknow Super Giants. The IPL franchise confirmed via a post on X that they have accepted Pant's request to give up his leadership role in the team, following a woeful 2026 season where they finished at the bottom of the points table.

"Rishabh approached the franchise with this request and we have respectfully accepted it," LSG Director of Cricket Tom Moody said. "These 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 - rebuilding and restructuring to reach the best standards."

After eight seasons at Delhi Capitals, Pant earned a jaw-dropping move to LSG at a whopping INR 27 crore in the player auction ahead of IPL 2025 and was expectedly named captain. He however, struggled with the bat - ending with a season tally of 269 runs despite scoring a 118*. His team finished seventh in that season. His batting numbers improved only marginally this year - 312 runs in 13 innings, while the team regressed, finishing 10th with only four wins and 10 defeats.

For three seasons since 2022 - their inception year - LSG were led by KL Rahul. After two playoffs finish and one at seventh spot, the two parties parted ways with the franchise looking for a reset under captain Pant. But that alliance has now ended after a couple of underwhelming seasons.

LSG have quite a few potential captains in the squad to take over from Pant. Aiden Markram leads the franchise's SA20 team - Durban Super Giants, as well as the one the Men's Hundred - Manchester Super Giants. Mitchell Marsh is currently the captain of Australia's T20I side while Nicholas Pooran has led MI New York to the Major League Cricket title twice.