Former South African skipper Faf du Plessis reckons Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant will be under pressure in IPL 2026. Pant was not part of India’s winning campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026. The wicket-keeper bat, however, was part of the 2024 World Cup-winning team.
Meanwhile, Pant had a quiet run in IPL 2025 for LSG. The left-hander scored 269 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.16 and thus could not lead from the front. The aggressive southpaw scored a century in the final league stage match but barring that, had a mundane season.
Faf du Plessis said on Star Sports, “For me, he is probably the player in the IPL who’s under the most pressure this season. We always talk about the price-tag pressure. Some guys flourish under that price-tag pressure, and some guys don’t. The last season for him was a real tough season. The team struggled and his runs also struggled, the way that he batted,” he responded.
The former RCB and CSK opener reckons Pant needs to score runs to reduce the pressure on his captaincy.
“So there is all that pressure when he comes into this season, and the expectation on what the team is going to do. With a batting-heavy team, how are they going to maximize the bowling? If he is scoring runs as a captain, it takes pressure off you in the first instance, but then there is the second instance, which is the team, and last year, both of those had big red crosses to their names,” Du Plessis observed.
On the other hand, former Indian batter Suresh Raina reckons Pant should bat at one drop in IPL 2026, whereas Nicholas Pooran should bat at number four.
“If four batters get out, there is a sort of commotion down the order. Abdul Samad has come after winning the Ranji Trophy, but when you chase 210 or 220, I feel they will have to tweak a little there. Get Rishabh Pant at No. 3 and play Nicholas Pooran at No. 4. Abdul Samad is at No. 5, and you will have to fit Ayush Badoni in between. You have a left-arm spinner in Shahbaz Ahmed, who also bats very well,” he said.
Raina believes LSG misses the services of a batter, who can add the finishing touches as they have a heavy top-order.
“They don’t have a heavy-hitter from No. 5 to No. 8. I feel that even if two players get out from the top, Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran have a very important role. He will have to justify his captaincy this time. I feel Rishabh will do slightly differently this season and will be more fearless this year,” Raina observed.
LSG will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against the Delhi Capitals on 1st April at Lucknow.
