Former Indian batter Rohan Gavaskar believes Rishabh Pant should relinquish Rishabh Pant from his captaincy duties to get the best out of him in the ongoing IPL 2026. Pant batted at number four against MI but was dismissed after scoring 15 runs off 10 balls. The left-hander was trying to cut the ball against Will Jacks but could only manage an edge, and the catch was sharply taken by Ryan Rickelton.

The southpaw has scored 209 runs in nine matches of IPL 2026 at an average of 25.50 and a strike rate of 128.30. Gavaskar reckons Pant should be relieved of his captaincy duties as the leadership pressure is not helping him.

“There was an interview with Sanjiv Goenka, where he said he wanted to create a legacy with Rishabh Pant, for 10-15 years, and win a lot of trophies and make it a successful franchise. Sometimes you have to remove such a player from the firing line. After this season, LSG have to decide, not to keep or release Pant, but whether to give him the responsibility of captaincy or not. Should he just focus on his batting? Because everyone knows how exploisve a batter he is. Everyone knows what potential he has as a cricketer,” he said on Cricbuzz.

On the other hand, former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary concurred with Gavaskar and said Pant should be freed from his captaincy role.

“We have lost Rishabh Pant – the batter, slowly because of the responsibility and pressure of captaincy. The runs are not coming from his bat like it should from a top-class proven international player. If you are playing three innings, atleast one of it should be a good score. Only then you are seen as a big player. I wish that he is freed from the responsibility of captaincy,” Manoj Tiwary said.

“The management have to decide whether they want to see a change in captaincy, potentially freeing Pant from that and use him as a player. You may see Rishabh Pant – the batter, doing well in that scenario,” he added.

Lucknow Super Giants will next face Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Lucknow on Thursday.