Rishabh Pant's first season as Lucknow Super Giants captain has produced LSG's worst IPL campaign — 4 points from 9 matches and bottom of the IPL 2026 table — alongside personal form below his historical standards. Public commentary has called for him to step down from the captaincy and focus on his batting; LSG's franchise leadership has not yet acted.
LSG's purchase of Pant at the 2025 mega-auction had been one of the most discussed franchise transactions in IPL history. The expectation was that Pant would lead a top-four campaign and provide a left-handed centrepiece for the side's batting. Neither has materialised. By early May 2026, LSG sat bottom of the table with four points from nine matches.
Pant's personal form has been below his career baseline. His on-field decision-making — particularly bowling-change timing and field-setting in death overs — has been the subject of sustained criticism. Public commentary, including from former players, has urged him to step down from the captaincy and focus on his batting.
LSG's franchise leadership has stopped short of any formal change. The structural issue is that the side's problems are broader than the captaincy alone — the bowling has under-delivered, the senior batting has been inconsistent, and the team has lost three of its closest finishes — and any captaincy change would not by itself solve the underlying performance issues.
2025 mega-auction — LSG sign Pant for a record-breaking fee
IPL 2026 — Pant takes over LSG captaincy from KL Rahul (now at DC)
Through April-May 2026 — LSG fall to bottom of the table, 4 points from 9 matches
Pant's personal batting form below his career baseline
Public commentary calls for Pant to step down from captaincy and focus on batting
LSG franchise leadership stops short of any formal change
No formal captaincy change. Pant remains LSG captain through the 2026 season's collapse to the bottom of the IPL table with 4 points from 9 matches.
Bangladesh vs ICC
7 February 2026
Bangladesh refused to play T20 World Cup 2026 in India and were replaced by Scotland after the ICC rejected their security-concern relocation demand.
South Africa, West Indies, England
10 March 2026
South Africa and West Indies stranded in India 8-11 days after T20 WC 2026 while England departed in 48 hours, sparking ICC bias claims.
Punjab Kings
7 May 2026
Yuzvendra Chahal was allegedly captured vaping aboard a Punjab Kings team charter flight en route to Hyderabad ahead of the franchise's IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 6 May 2026. The footage surfaced from a behind-the-scenes vlog uploaded to social media by Chahal's PBKS teammate Arshdeep Singh, in which a figure appearing to be Chahal is visible with what observers identified as an electronic cigarette. The clip went viral within hours. Neither Chahal nor Arshdeep issued a public statement; Punjab Kings and the BCCI both remained silent. The controversy arrived just days after the BCCI had formally penalised Rajasthan Royals batter Riyan Parag for vaping in the team dressing room — and before the board had yet issued its blanket vaping ban for IPL venues.