Lucknow, May 29 (IANS) Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday confirmed that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has stepped down from captaincy duties with immediate effect, and the same has been accepted by the franchise after the side had a tenth‑place finish in IPL 2026.

After leaving Delhi Capitals, a side he led before in the IPL, Pant took over as LSG’s skipper after the franchise roped him in for a record-breaking Rs 27 crore in the mega auction held in 2024. But under him, LSG endured back‑to‑back disappointing campaigns – the side finished seventh last season and slipped further this year by ending at the bottom spot of the points table with just four wins from 14 games.

“Rishabh approached the franchise with this request and we have respectfully accepted it. These decisions are never easy. We are grateful for everything Rishabh has brought to this dressing room as captain. Our focus now is on the collective – rebuilding and restructuring to reach the best standards,” said Tom Moody, the side’s global director of cricket, in a statement on Friday.

Under his captaincy, LSG managed ten wins but suffered 18 defeats across two seasons. With the bat, Pant, once amongst the most explosive performers in the league, struggled to replicate that form for LSG. Across two years, he scored 581 runs at a strike rate of 135.74, numbers way below his career benchmarks.

A franchise official told IANS on Friday that Pant’s decision to relinquish captaincy just six days after the side’s campaign got over isn’t a huge surprise, considering that he expressed this desire to leave the top role after the season got over for LSG on a disappointing note.

“Rishabh was very clear about leaving as LSG’s captain right after the tournament ended. From his perspective, the vision he had for the team as the captain, it just wasn’t translating into reality. Also, it was becoming too much for him to balance things as captain while his primary skillsets, especially his batting form, wasn’t at its best.

“It’s also understood that Rishabh told the LSG coaching staff and management that it would be selfish of him to continue as captain after yet another disappointing season. Plus, he wants to prioritise his batting in the longer run, considering he is not an automatic pick in the Indian side in white-ball formats,” said the official.

Pant himself admitted during the season that ‘too many minds’ in the leadership group had complicated matters for him as a leader. Pant’s future as the LSG skipper was under doubts when Moody had said after losing their final league game to Punjab Kings that the franchise will consider a leadership reset

“One key thing to note is that Rishabh has high standards, and if he doesn’t touch them, either as a batter, keeper or captain, he will quickly realise it before anyone tells him. Moreover, Rishabh was clear that he did not wish to wait until the trading window opened or retention discussions for the next season commenced to speak to coaches and management on his future as LSG captain.

“There was also this feeling within Rishabh that he let down LSG fans too as a leader, and that weighed heavily on him as well. So, ultimately, it was a mixed bag of factors behind him leaving the captaincy and subsequently, the franchise also accepted his desire to let go of the leadership armband and allow Rishabh to concentrate on his batting,” added the official.

–IANS

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