Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has given sane advice to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who are struggling in the IPL 2026. He has stated that LSG should unburden Rishabh Pant, their INR 27 crore buy-in in the IPL 2025 auction, from captaincy and make Aiden Markram captain instead.
LSG has suffered 8 consecutive defeats in front of home fans at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, which has added to the woes. In the face of severe scrutiny, Jaffer also recommended how the LSG batting unit should tweak its lineup, supporting Mitchell Marsh and Markram, the successful opening duo from the previous season, to lead the top order without any changes.
“LSG looks completely out of place right now; it’s hard even to know what to expect from them. If I were in that dugout, the first thing I would do is make Aiden Markram the captain. I would open with Markram and Mitchell Marsh. At number three, Nicholas Pooran, then Rishabh Pant at four, and Ayush Badoni at five. At number six, Abdul Samad, and at seven, Mukul Choudhary. That would be my top seven, and I would go with this batting order,” Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.
Jaffer backed Rishabh Pant as a batter, and when given a free hand without pressure and responsibilities, he is a pure match-winner.
Pant, who hit 42 against KKR, was unable to lead his team to victory in what has been a disappointing campaign thus far, with only 189 runs in 8 matches, an average of 27, and a strike rate of around 127.
“I feel a player like Rishabh Pant should play purely as a player. You get the best out of him when you free him up and tell him to just go out and play and win matches on his own. Don’t burden him with captaincy. I think Aiden Markram is a better captain. He has led South Africa very successfully; he is mentally strong and very composed, and I think he can get the best out of the other players. But this doesn’t look like something that will actually happen. This is just my suggestion, but if I were there, that’s what I would do,” added Jaffer.
LSG has only 2 wins in 8 games, and now their IPL 2026 playoff qualifications depend on them winning all of their remaining games. LSG now has a long break, with their next match to happen on May 4 against the Mumbai Indians in Mumbai.
