At this point in time, Rishabh Pant is looking totally clueless as Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) skipper in the ongoing IPL 2026 season. The Sanjiv Goenka-owned franchise faced their sixth successive loss against Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 4, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Rishabh Pant-led side failed to defend 229 runs against the Mumbai based franchise.
Rishabh Pant's captaincy at danger?
Amid a tough season, former India cricketer Rohan Gavaskar feels that the burden of leadership is affecting Rishabh Pant's batting in the ongoing season, as he has failed both as skipper and as a player as well.
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In an interaction with Cricbuzz, Gavaskar urged LSG to remove Pant from captaincy so that he can play freely and produce impactful knocks with the bat and contribute to the team's victory, saying that the team may have to take a bold decision for the upcoming season.
"In an interview (after Pant’s appointment as captain) Sanjiv Goenka had said he wants to create a legacy with Rishabh Pant. They want him to play for 10-15 years, win trophies and become a successful franchise. Everybody hopes for that. Sometimes you have to take a player out of the firing line. They may have to make a decision for the next season on whether Pant should continue as captain or be asked to just focus on his batting because we all know he is an explosive batter and know his potential as a cricketer," said Rohan Gavaskar.
While talking further, Rohan said that being a captain of a side who is not performing leaves a negative impact on your individual skill, which can be seen in Rishabh Pant's case as well.
"I am a big fan of Pant, but will he be the captain again next season, or will the team benefit more from him batting without any inhibitions? He is not in form and when you are a captain with the team is not performing well, you feel that pressure. They need to take that pressure off him and allow him to play freely," added Gavaskar.
Rishabh Pant's poor show in IPL 2026
Rishabh Pant is going through a disastrous form in the ongoing IPL 2026, managing only 204 runs with the bat in nine innings at an average of 25 and an underwhelming strike rate of 128. These stats clearly do not define Pant's actual potential. After being acquired for Rs 27 crore in IPL 2025, it was expected that Pant would change LSG's fortunes, but things have been quite opposite for the star left-handed batter.
Pant also failed to prove himself as a captain of LSG, claiming only two wins in IPL 2026, reeling at the bottom of the table with only four points after playing nine games (two wins and seven losses).