Rishabh Pant on Friday (May 29) stepped down as the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He requested to be relieved of leadership duties following the franchise's dismal IPL 2026 campaign.
The wicketkeeper-batter was roped in for an astronomical Rs 27 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction, but he managed just over 500 runs across two seasons with the franchise.
Under his leadership, the Super Giants endured back‑to‑back disappointing campaigns, with the side finishing seventh last season and slipping further this year by ending at the bottom of the points table. Overall, Pant managed 10 wins and 18 defeats as the LSG skipper.
Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, LSG's director of cricket Tom Moody backed the move, stating the break will help Pant rediscover his explosive form and navigate the personal and professional difficulties he has faced over the last couple of seasons.
Moody also hoped that quitting captaincy would allow Pant to return to his fearless best as a batter.
“I think at the end of the day, I think Rishabh has recognised that, you know, it's time to move on from the captaincy for now, uh and focus as a player. Um, you know, over the last couple of years its been difficult for him personally. He hasn't reached the heights that he would expect of himself. So I think its the right decision. Uh, certainly the right decision for him. Its the right decision for the franchise. And let's hope that, you know, this is the corner that he turns that enables him to play that brand of cricket that we recognise, alongside him," Moody said.
Moody mentioned that the decision was not entirely surprising to the management, as everyone in the leadership group had recognized the need for a "reset".
“I think I made the statement at the end of our last game that we needed to consider a leadership reset, and I think everyone knew that. The last three years for the franchise - they've come seventh, seventh and 10th, so we need to look at things. I've only just moved into this position over the last few months. It's one of the things I think that from a holistic point of view, I need to look at every department of cricket to make sure that we return to a side that is competing in finals," he added.
When questioned on whether the franchise would retain Rishabh Pant, Moody remained non-committal, noting the franchise will conduct a thorough squad review before making decisions.
“Yeah, look, that's an obvious question, but we as a franchise recognise that look, the tournaments aren't even finished yet. It's going to take a long time for us to debrief, review the whole squad, you know, what are we looking to do? What brand of cricket do we want to play and whose going to play a role in that moving forward?" he remarked.
