Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant has admitted that the lack of role clarity and constant chopping and changing in the batting order hurt the team a lot during their disappointing IPL 2026 campaign. Speaking at the draw ahead of LSG’s crucial clash against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Lucknow on Thursday, Pant said the franchise had struggled to maintain clarity in the squad, something he felt had played a major role in their poor season.
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Justin Langer finds positives in LSG defeat, praises Nicholas Pooran and backs Rishabh Pant “The only thing is moving with more clarity. We know we are the best players, but at the same time, sometimes when clarity is lacking, it can happen in cricket,” Pant said. “So most of the time it’s about clarity and there are a few changes in the batting order, so hopefully we can handle that and take it into next season,” he added. LSG found themselves in dire straits heading into the match. While RCB are sitting at the third position in the IPL 2026 table with 12 points from nine matches, Lucknow have collected just four points from the same number of matches and are awaiting elimination from the playoffs. A defeat against Bengaluru would make LSG the first team to be officially relegated this season, while a win for RCB would put them at the top of the table ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings. Pant, who has been under immense pressure as both captain and batsman, also stressed the importance of maintaining stability within the T20 framework, although he admitted that the team was forced to explore changes due to their position in the tournament. “Having a stable environment in T20 cricket is essential, but at the same time, when changes are needed, you should be able to change something because doing the same thing every time may not give you the same result,” Pant explained. “So it’s definitely not a bad choice to try sometimes, especially where we stand now,” he added. Pant also assessed Lucknow’s surface ahead of the must-win clash and predicted a comparatively better batting wicket than the teams have seen on the pitch this season. “It certainly looks like a 180-190 wicket. It’s certainly a better wicket than a lot of games,” he said. The season was equally challenging for Pant personally. The wicketkeeper-batsman struggled to make a big impact with the bat, scoring 204 runs in nine matches at an average of 25.50 and a strike rate of 128.30.
