- Tom Moody says the Lucknow Super Giants will consider a reset on captaincy.
- LSG have won just 10 out of 28 matches under Pant’s leadership.
- Pant himself has struggled with the bat at LSG, scoring 581 runs in 26 innings.
Tom Moody has admitted that the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) may consider a leadership reset following a difficult season. The Rishabh Pant-led side have won just four of their 14 matches in 2026, confirming a bottom two finish.
In 2025, LSG fared slightly better. They finished in seventh place with six wins in 14 games. Unfortunately for Pant, that wasn’t good enough to qualify for the playoffs either.
Pant has found captaincy challenging: Moody
Having been bought at the IPL auction in 2025, the Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant has found life difficult. LSG have failed to make the playoffs in either season under Pant. They have now failed to make it past the league phase three years in a row, after two successful initial seasons in that regard.
Speaking about Pant’s captaincy at a press conference following LSG’s defeat to PBKS on Saturday, Moody had the following to say:
“From a captaincy point of view, you know, he’s found it challenging, obviously, and the results reflect that. And you do have to wonder whether that is a pressure that is reflected with his performance with the bat. I know that this season has been a difficult season for us, but we will reflect on it, we’ll take time, we’ll reflect on it. We’ll consider all things.
“But certainly we haven’t lived up to the expectation or the standard that we expect of ourselves. And certainly when it comes to the leadership of the franchise, it’s certainly something that we’ll be taking some very serious consideration to, you know, what it looks like in the future. Like every department, when you do reflect on a season, we will be making some considered decisions, but it certainly looks like that we’re needing to consider a reset.”
Speaking a little more on what has been a disastrous season, Moody placed on the entire think tank. The former Australia all-rounder also said that this wasn’t a time to point fingers at individuals. He added:
“I think we’re all responsible [for the disappointing season],” Moody said. “I don’t think it’s a time to point the finger at any individual. I think we all take accountability, and now’s not the time to be apportioning blame in any particular department. We all need time to reflect on it in a calm manner, but there’s certain things that we do need to address, and that will be addressed.”
Rishabh Pant’s struggles with the bat
Pant’s problems in these two years haven’t been limited to leadership, however. The left-handed keeper-batter has also come across tough times with the bat. Pant has scored just 581 runs in 26 innings across the two seasons, also accumulating his two lowest tallies since his debut in the 2016 campaign.
His season strike rates of 133 and 138 in the last two years have been below his career strike rate. That came in campaigns where most batters have upped their scoring rates, given the introduction of the Impact Player rule.
Pant has also scored just three 50+ scores in that period. His best innings in that time was an unbeaten 118, that unfortunately came in a losing cause – a six-wicket loss to RCB in 2025.
What next for Lucknow Super Giants?
Whether LSG remove Rishabh Pant as captain or not remains to be seen. Their results in the past two years and Pant’s own numbers in that time leave a lot to be desired.
And while one cannot blame the management for wanting to look ahead, this isn’t the first time that Lucknow have come to loggerheads with their captain. KL Rahul too was removed as captain after IPL 2024, with the keeper-batter claiming since that he wished to work in a ‘lighter atmosphere’.
The Lucknow Super Giants, however, have bigger fish to fry now. Their tenth (or ninth) placed finish is now their lowest in IPL history. The management will want to find their way back up the table come next season. Anything below a playoff position could potentially be considered a disaster.
If LSG choose to move on from Pant as captain, they could look within for their next choice. Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh all have an impressive body of work, captaining franchise and national sides in the past. They could also look to young Ayush Badoni, who led Delhi to the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy semi-finals in 2024.
On the other hand, they could also bring in a new captain from outside the squad, either by trade or through the auction. What LSG choose to do remains to be seen, and their decision could shape the team for time to come.
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