Former South African captain Faf Du Plessis has made a huge statement on Indian wicket-keeper and Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant ahead of the upcoming edition of the IPL. Faf Du Plessis has stated that the LSG captain will be the player under most pressure heading into IPL 2026. He pointed out that Pant failed to first with the bat last season and his team also struggled to win games. Faf Du Plessis made this claim during a discussion on Star Sports. When asked about the pressure on Pant both as player and a captain heading into IPL 2026.
Speaking on this issue Faf said “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.”
Faf du Plessis also added that he needs to score runs to reduce the pressure on him as a captain. Former India superstar Suresh Raina has said that Rishabh Pant should bat at Number 3 in the upcoming season with Pooran moving to Number 4. Suresh Raina said that he would send Pant higher up the order in case LSG are chasing big totals and that the tweak in batting order will be necessary for them to do well.
Lucknow Super Giants had a very disappointing season as they finished seventh in the points table last season. Rishabh Pant who was the captain of LSG and was the highest paid player of the season failed completely with the bat except the last game against RCB. He managed just 269 runs at an average of less than 25 in 13 matches. Rishabh Pant has been trusted to handle the duties again and he will be keen to make a point in the upcoming season of the IPL.
