Rishabh Pant steps down as Lucknow Super Giants captain after IPL 2026 horror show; ‘These decisions are never easy’

Rishabh Pant has stepped down as the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) after a horror show in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). the franchise announced on Friday. Pant's decision to quit as LSG captain came after he failed to lead the franchise even at the playoffs in 2025 and 2026 seasons of IPL. Pant, who spent

Bought for a whopping ₹27 crore by LSG during the 2025 auctions, Pant failed to deliver for the Sanjiv Goenka-owned franchise. While LSG finished seventh with six wins in IPL 2025, they finished last in IPL 2026 with just four wins out of 10 games.

“Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) wish to formally announce that Rishabh Pant has requested to be relieved of his captaincy duties with the franchise, and the franchisee has accepted his request with immediate effect,” LSG said in a statement at 5 PM IST on Friday.

LSG Director of Cricket, Tom Moody described Pant stepping down as captain as a hard decision. “Rishabh approached the franchise with this request and we have respectfully accepted it. These decisions are never easy," Moody said in a statement released by LSG.

“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,” added the former Australian cricketer.

Tom Moddy hints at captaincy reset

Earlier, after LSG's IPL 2026 campaign, Moody admitted that Pant struggled to handle the pressures of captaincy and are considering a reset in the leadership. "From a captaincy point of view, you know, he's found it challenging, obviously, and the results reflect that," Moody had said after LSG's final game in IPL 2026 against Punjab Kings.

"But certainly we haven't lived up to the expectation or the standard that we expect of ourselves. And certainly when it comes to the leadership of the franchise, it's certainly something that we'll be taking some very serious consideration to, you know, what it looks like in the future.

"Like every department, when you do reflect on a season, we will be making some considered decisions, but it certainly looks like that we're needing to consider a reset," Moody added.

Were too many mind Rishabh Pant at LSG in IPL

Having earned the reputation of one of India's most destructive batters, the wicketkeeper-batter enjoyed stellar seasons in 2018 when he scored 684 runs at a strike rate of 173.60, and in 2019, when he amassed 488 runs at 162.66. However, he has failed to recreate that impact at LSG, scoring 581 runs at a strike rate of 135.74 across two seasons.

Earlier, during the tournament, Pant has hinted at too many minds were making it difficult for him to manage at LSG. "And too many minds doesn't make it easy on the ground," Pant had said after LSG lost to Kolkata Knight Riders via Super Over on April 27 at the Ekana Stadium.

Pant's "too many minds" refers to the star-studded backroom staff at LSG, which included head coach Justin Langer, Moody, strategic advisor Kane Williamson, assistant coach Lance Klusener and bowling coach Bharat Arun.

What's next for Rishabh Pant?

With the IPL 2026 done and dusted for LSG, Pant will head to the Indian camp for the one-off Test match against Afghanistan in June. It must be noted that Pant has been removed from India's Test captaincy, with KL Rahul replacing him. The India vs Afghanistan one-off Test starts on June 6

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