Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant was padded up and ready to go in to bat in the run chase against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but he didn’t even when three wickets fell. In the run chase of 188 at Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, on May 15, LSG were in a good position with openers Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis putting up a 135-run stand. As two wickets fell in the 12th over, Pant was expected to walk out to bat but Abdul Samad and then Mukul Choudhary walked out to bat ahead of him. After the six-wicket win over five-time IPL champions, Pant revealed that the LSG think tank wanted others to get a chance to bat as they haven’t had much game time in the season.
"See, I was ready to bat and the idea came up," Pant said at the post-match presentation. "I was in the dressing room. The idea came in: why not try players who have not played much, they haven't got much chances, and that was the idea. I was thinking again and again, should I do it or not, because I still wanted to be out there in the field. But you know, sometimes you have to respect some things for the think tank."
Pant has opened the innings, batted at no.3 and then no.4. He has not batted lower than no.4. Against CSK, Samad went in to bat at no.4. Samad has had five chances to bat excluding the CSK match. He hit a six and then got bowled by CSK debutant Spencer Johnson. Then Choudhary walked out to bat. The CSK game was his ninth in the season. But, the two batters joined Nicholas Pooran in the middle ahead of Pant.
LSG have a star-studded coaching staff, including Tom Moody as director of cricket, Justin Langer as head coach, Kane Williamson as strategic advisor, Lance Klusener as assistant coach, Bharat Arun as fielding coach and others. Pant didn't specify who asked him to let others bat ahead of him.
Pant’s numbers in IPL 2026
In the ongoing season, Pant has scored 251 runs from 11 innings at an average of 27.88 and strike rate of 138.67. His solitary half-century of the season came against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a tricky run chase.
Pant’s promotion to no.3 did not go down well for him or the team. The batting lineup has done well with Pooran at no.3. The Caribbean batter was having a terrible season when he batted in the middle order. Against CSK, he finished the run chase with four consecutive sixes against Anshul Kamboj.