2 min readApr 16, 2026 10:15 PM IST
Rishabh Pant’s journey as Lucknow Super Giants captain started off in a horrid way last season and it hasn’t gone too much better than that this year thus far. In the five innings that he has batted for LSG in IPL 2026, Pant has scored just 104 runs at a strike rate of 122.35, which is middling by any standard in T20 cricket, let alone in a year in which five of the top 10 run scorers thus far are striking at over 170.
What makes it worse for LSG this season that Pant is not the only talented batter who is underperforming. Their top five also consists of the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran, all of whom are yet to truly hit the races this season. Former India batter and commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu feels that Pant seems to be almost getting himself out.
“I don’t think bowlers are getting Rishabh out; more often, he is getting himself out. He has the talent and ability, and if he gives himself time, he can turn it around. At the moment, both, their batting and bowling, seem to be struggling,” said Sidhu on Star Sports.
Sidhu further said that LSG’s batters need to do some soul-searching to get out of the rut they find themselves in. “There is a lot of soul searching that needs to be done. Their problems have persisted, especially with the top order not firing. They have been heavily dependent on their top three, but the returns haven’t come. When you look at players like Markram, Pooran, Marsh and Rishabh Pant, there is immense potential, but the partnerships are missing. Even a 50-run stand at the top has been rare,” he said. The poor run from their biggest stars has left LSG in a rather shaky position. Five matches into the season, LSG have won two games and lost three and are seventh out of 10 teams.
