A new twist has emerged in the Rishabh Pant-LSG captaincy saga. On Friday, Pant resigned as captain of the Lucknow Super Giants on Friday after the team finished 10th on the IPL 2026 points table.
But, according to new reports, it wasn’t the first time that Pant tried to tender his resignation as captain of LSG. As reported by Nikhil Naz of India Today, Pant had actually attempted to resign in the middle of the season before being assuaged by franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka.
LSG in IPL 2026
After finishing 7th in IPL 2025, LSG looked like a team that could get itself back on track, but it did not happen.
The initial parts of the season went fine, with the team winning two of their first three matches, but the middle phase literally crashed them. LSG lost 6 matches and were pretty much eliminated by the end of that streak.
There were two consolation wins in the last five matches, but that did not prevent LSG from becoming the first team to be eliminated from playoffs contention in IPL 2026.
The elimination in 2026 meant that LSG went three seasons in a row without making the playoffs. LSG had made the playoffs in each of their first two seasons since their inception in 2022.
Rishabh Pant came under fire for not just his poor results as a leader, but also for his poor returns with the bat.
Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025 and 2026
Pant joined LSG in IPL 2025 for a fee of Rs 27 crore per year, making him the most expensive signing in IPL history.
Since then, though, he has been unable to fulfill the expectations of the heavy price tag and has had dismal returns with the bat.
Last year, despite a century and a fifty, Pant finished with 269 runs in 14 matches. He averaged just 24 with a strike rate of 133.
In 2026, Rishabh Pant technically improved upon his abhorrent numbers from last year. This year, he finished with 312 runs in 14 matches at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 136. He also had one half-century.
Overall, across two seasons, Rishabh Pant has made 581 runs in 28 matches at an average of 26 and a strike rate of 136. Among the 7 specialist batters who have been the full-time captain of their teams in both IPL 2025 and 2026, Pant has the lowest average and the second-lowest strike rate.
Also Read: No sackings! Justin Langer and Nicholas Pooran survive LSG overhaul after IPL failure
“Rishabh Pant tried to resign twice” – Nikhil Naz
In a video that has now gone viral on social media, Nikhil Naz from India Today said that Rishabh Pant’s end-of-season resignation wasn’t the first time that he had tried to quit the LSG captaincy in 2026.
“When they had 4-5 games to go in the IPL season, Rishabh Pant spoke to the LSG team management and the owners and said that he doesn’t want to continue as captain. However, at that time, Sanjiv Goenka wasn’t keen about Pant taking a hurried decision,” he said.
“Goenka tried to tell Pant that it was a bad season, and such things happen, so don’t make any decisions in haste. Pant went back, and after a few more games, he said, ‘No, I’ve made up my mind.’ Once again, the owner tried to convince him to stay and said, ‘We see you as the captain, so please continue.’ But, once again, Pant came to the owners to quit,” Naz continued.
“Towards the end of the season, Pant said that in consultation with the coaching staff, he didn’t want to continue, the owners decided to accept his wish,” he concluded.
Rishabh Pant conveyed to management that he wants to leave captaincy in middle of the IPL only.
Sanjiv Goenka asked to him to continue, he didn’t want Pant to make a decison in hurry and panic.
At the season end, Pant again asked them to relieve him of captaincy duties. pic.twitter.com/PIolNS3tR2
— Riseup Pant (@riseup_pant17) May 30, 2026