Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant’s future in the IPL has become one of the biggest talking points of the offseason, with conflicting reports emerging about his departure from the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captaincy.
A few days before the IPL 2026 final, LSG officially announced that Rishabh Pant’s request to step down as captain had been accepted. The decision came after a disappointing campaign in which the franchise finished at the bottom of the 10-team tournament. In its statement, LSG thanked Rishabh Pant for his contributions as captain and emphasised that the franchise would now focus on rebuilding and restructuring for the future.
Soon after the announcement, reports suggested that Rishabh Pant could be heading back to Delhi Capitals (DC), the franchise where he spent eight seasons before joining LSG. According to those reports, a trade deal involving spinner Kuldeep Yadav moving to Lucknow is being discussed, with Rishabh Pant reportedly willing to take a pay cut to make the return possible.
However, a new report has offered a very different version of events. It claims that Rishabh Pant did not voluntarily give up the captaincy and was instead removed by the LSG management following the team’s poor season. The report further suggests that the 28-year-old decided to seek a move elsewhere after feeling undervalued within the franchise.
Sources quoted in the report questioned the speed with which the captaincy change was made immediately after the IPL season. The same sources also claimed that Rishabh Pant appeared eager to explore opportunities with another team rather than continue in an environment where he no longer felt fully appreciated.
Rishabh Pant’s stint with LSG began with huge expectations. The franchise spent a record-breaking Rs 27 crore to sign him at the IPL mega auction, making him the most expensive player in the IPL auction history. Despite the massive investment, the partnership appears set to end after only two seasons.
The franchise’s struggles also played a role in the growing scrutiny. LSG failed to qualify for the playoffs for a third consecutive year, while Rishabh Pant faced criticism for both his leadership and batting performances. Across 28 matches for Lucknow, he scored 581 runs at a strike rate of 135.7.
While neither Rishabh Pant nor LSG has publicly commented on the latest claims, it remains to be seen whether Pant will move back to his old franchise or not.
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