Rishabh Pant has stepped down as captain of Lucknow Super Giants after two disappointing seasons with the franchise. LSG confirmed through a post on X that they had accepted Pant’s request to give up the leadership role following a poor IPL 2026 campaign, in which the team 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.”
Pant joined LSG in a major move ahead of IPL 2025 after spending eight seasons with Delhi Capitals. The franchise bought him for INR 27 crore at the player auction and, as expected, appointed him captain.
However, his first season with LSG did not go as planned. Pant struggled for runs, finishing IPL 2025 with 269 despite making an unbeaten 118. Lucknow ended that campaign in seventh place.
His batting returns improved only slightly in IPL 2026. Pant scored 312 runs from 13 innings, but LSG slipped further as a team, finishing 10th with only four wins and 10 defeats.
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Before Pant’s arrival, LSG had been led by KL Rahul for three seasons from their debut year in 2022. Under Rahul, the franchise reached the playoffs twice and finished seventh once before both sides moved on, with LSG seeking a fresh start under Pant.
That partnership has now ended after two underwhelming campaigns.
LSG still have several captaincy options in their squad. Aiden Markram leads the franchise’s SA20 team, Durban Super Giants, as well as Manchester Super Giants in the Men’s Hundred. Mitchell Marsh is currently Australia’s T20I captain, while Nicholas Pooran has twice led MI New York to the Major League Cricket title.
