Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant and franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka visited the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya ahead of the IPL 2026 season.
With the new season around the corner, team members joined the duo to pray at the temple, marking a spiritual start to their campaign. The franchise shared visuals of the visit on social media as preparations for the tournament gathered pace. During his visit, Goenka emphasized the importance of seeking blessings before the start of the new season.
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“Offering prayers to Lord Ram is never enough and as the IPL season began, all the players offered prayers at the temple here,” Goenka told ANI.
“With Lord Ram’s blessings, everything will fall into place,” he added.
The visit comes at a crucial time for the Lucknow-based franchise, which is looking to rebuild after a mixed run in recent seasons. The team has shown promise since its debut, but has struggled to make it deep into the tournament, falling short in key knockout moments.
The big shift came ahead of IPL 2025 when the franchise moved on from KL Rahul and made a record investment of Rs 27 crore to bring in Rishabh Pant. The goalkeeper-thumb was handed over to the captain as the team looked to build a new core.
However, last year’s campaign led by Pant did not go as expected. The team managed just six wins in 14 games and failed to qualify for the play-offs, with a poor second-half performance hurting their chances. Pant also endured a difficult season with the bat despite registering one and a half centuries.
RISHABH PANT-LED LSG READY FOR IPL 2026
With the new season, Lucknow will be looking to turn things around and aim for their first IPL final.
The team will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Delhi Capitals on April 1, followed by matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 5, Kolkata Knight Riders on April 9 and Gujarat Titans on April 12 in the opening phase.
The upcoming season offers an opportunity Pant to establish himself as a leader in the IPL and lead the team back into contention as well as reignite his T20I career which has seen a slump in recent times.
Pant has not been part of India’s T20 set-up, missing the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup 2026. With a revamped approach and renewed focus, the franchise will be hoping for a more consistent campaign this time around.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
21 March 2026 16:51 IST
