Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock has raised serious concerns over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant after their six-wicket defeat to Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing IPL 2026 clash at the Wankhede Stadium on May 4.
The loss marked LSG’s seventh defeat of the season, which has almost ended their chances of qualification for the playoffs. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Pollock questioned Pant’s approach regarding the usage of his bowlers. “They also used only five bowlers and didn’t go to the extra option of Aiden Markram,” he said. “Someone like Avesh Khan, his strength has always been pounding the good length.”
The captain himself is struggling with the bat this season. So far in IPL 2026, Pant has scored only 204 runs from nine innings at an average of 25.50 and a strike rate of 128.30.
Pollock also criticised Pant for using Avesh Khan, who conceded 56 runs in 3.4 overs during the match. “Here, he was running in and trying to bowl yorkers. And they were knee-high, getting smacked away. Bowlers have to realise what their strength is and stick to it. By bringing in Inglis, they missed out on an international bowler, which probably would have served the balance better,” said Pollock.
Mumbai chased down the target comfortably with eight balls to spare after a strong start from their openers. Pollock believes LSG lacked a clear plan to stop them. “Sometimes in such games, it almost looks like you are aimless as a captain,” Pollock added. “When two players are flying like they were at the top of the order for MI, you feel like there is nothing you can do. But it looked like there were no clear-cut plans on how they were going to pick up a wicket or restrict scoring.”
Lucknow will next face Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on May 7 in Lucknow.
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