Just a few days before the Indian Premier League 2026 Final, Lucknow Super Giants officially announced that their wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has requested to step down as captain. Lucknow Super Giants finished tenth in the points table and had their worst season. In their official statement Lucknow Super Giants said ‘’Rishabh Pant approached the franchise with his request and we have respectfully accepted it. These decisions are never easy. We are grateful for everything Rishabh has brought to this dressing room as captain. Our focus now is on the collective – rebuilding and restructuring to reach the best standards," LSG said in a brief statement on their website.

Earlier this week reports emerged that Rishabh Pant is set to be traded with Kuldeep Yadav and will return to his former franchise, Delhi Capitals. According to reports, Rishabh Pant is set to take a significant pay cut to rejoin Delhi Capitals franchise. It is expected that Rishabh Pant will be getting 15 crores in Delhi Capitals next season which marks a significant drop from his 27 crores in Lucknow Super Giants.

Rishabh Pant did not resign, was sacked as LSG captain

There are fresh reports coming in that Rishabh Pant did not voluntarily relinquish his captaincy and was instead removed by LSG management. After this move, the wicket-keeper batter reportedly chose to leave the franchise after not feeling valued. A source quoted by Cricblogger said “Questions are being raised over the haste with which Pant was removed as captain immediately after the IPL season. At the same time, Pant too appeared keen to secure a move elsewhere rather than continue with a franchise where he no longer felt valued’’.

Rishabh Pant was signed by Lucknow Super Giants ahead of IPL 2025 for a jaw dropping price of 27 Crore. He became the most expensive player to be sold in the history of IPL. Pant was appointed as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants and there were high expectations. However, things did not go as planned as Pant failed completely with the bat in IPL 2025 and failed to lead LSG to the playoffs. In the 2026 IPL, once again it was the same story as Rishabh Pant struggled with his own form and the team finished bottom of the points table and the team had their worst ever year in their IPL history.

Lalit Modi slams Sanjiv Goenka for unfair treatment to Rishabh Pant

Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi slammed Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka saying that the owner has mistreated Rishabh Pant. Lalit Modi took it to twitter and made multiple allegations against Sanjiv Goenka saying that Rishabh Pant was sacked by LSG and did not step down. He also retweeted multiple articles quoting this news. Lalit Modi ever since the start of IPL 2026 has called Sanjiv Goenka the worst owner in IPL history.

The reports regarding Rishabh Pant leaving Lucknow Super Giants are not officially confirmed by either the player or the franchise. However, sources say that this decision has already been made and the official statements will come in the upcoming weeks. Rishabh Pant had a really tough time with the Lucknow Super Giants franchise where he scored 269 runs in his debut season as captain for the franchise in IPL 2025 and amassed 312 runs in 14 matches, as LSG finished at the bottom of the table in IPL 2026.