IPL captain exits: Rishabh Pant steps down, Hardik Pandya may be on his way out

Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya (BCCI/IPL Photo) IPL-2026 is not over yet, but the franchises that have done disastrously this year have already started rolling their heads. On Friday, Rishabh Pant stepped down as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants, who finished at the bottom of the table. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya’s tumultuous tenure as the captain of Mumbai Indians will come to an end after the five-time champions finished penultimate.In fact, the all-rounder wants to leave MI and could be traded to another franchise when the trade window opens, according to a trusted source. Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders are potential destinations for him, although other franchises could also be interested in him.LSG made Pant their captain after bidding Rs 27 crore for him, making him the most expensive player in IPL history. On the other hand, MI created a controversy when they brought Hardik back into their fold from Gujarat Titans and named him as captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, then India’s captain across all three formats.Unfortunately for both Pant and Pandya, the teams’ poor results coincided with their own indifferent personal form. After two sub-par seasons, Pant decided to call it a day. LSG director Tom Moody announced on social media that Pant had sought permission to relieve him of his captaincy duties.“Rishabh approached the franchisee with this request and we respectfully accepted,” Moody said in a press release. “These decisions are never easy. We are grateful for all that Rishabh has brought to this dressing room as captain. We are now focused on a collective rebuilding and restructuring to achieve the very best standards,” the statement added.TOI understands that Pant wants to focus on cricket with the upcoming crucial international season. He was also recently dropped as Test vice-captain, apart from being sacked from the ODI side after spending two years on the bench for Team India.“Pant wants to keep a clear head going forward. He has made many strong comebacks in his career. Right now he is focused on being the best cricketer he can be and helping his team win. A good international season can help him going into the next IPL. He bounced back from a bad IPL last year and had a stellar Test series in England which can help him if he can bounce back, the LSG management believe he can help moving forward.” told TOI . “It is better for both the franchise and Pant to take some time and calm down before planning for the next season,” the sources added.The formal announcement of Hardik’s departure as MI captain may not take too long either. “Yes, Hardik is done with MI and he is done with the franchise. He has had enough. He could either go to Delhi Capitals, who could trade their captain and Indian left-armer Axar Patel for him, or he could be traded to KKR for Cameron Green or Varun Chakravarthy or Rinku Singh. But don’t rule out another franchise being interested in him,” he told TOI on Friday.Another source revealed that “During the mid-season review, a senior player suggested that young Indian batsman Tilak Varma, who has been with MI for several years, is the ideal person to be named next year’s captain. However, India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who made his IPL debut as MI captain this season, is also likely to be a candidate for MI’s senior batting role. He has a ‘different’ role Basically, MI needs a reset and that the reset button must be pressed as soon as possible,” a source told TOI.While both Surya and Bumrah could be strong contenders, Surya’s extended lean patch and the need to manage Bumrah’s workload would have to be weighed before making the final call.There is talk that Pandya and Pant may not be the only two IPL captains who could end up losing their crowns. Some other captains may also face tough questions from disappointed management.