Rishabh Pant Warned Against Following MS Dhoni With LSG Captaincy At Stake

Lucknow Super Giants Face Post-Season Crisis After Nightmare Campaign

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) concluded their IPL 2026 campaign on a highly disappointing note. A heavy defeat against the Punjab Kings in their final league match on Saturday sealed their fate, pushing the franchise down to the absolute bottom of the points table. For a team built on high ambitions and massive financial investments, finishing last was nothing short of a sporting catastrophe.

The entire season turned out to be a competitive nightmare for captain Rishabh Pant and his squad. Out of 14 group-stage matches, LSG managed to secure just four victories, finishing with a meager eight points. Consequently, severe questions are now being raised regarding Pant’s capability and future as the designated leader of the franchise.

Rishabh Pant’s Captaincy Statistics Under Intense Scrutiny

Rishabh Pant’s tenure as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants has struggled to yield positive results. Over the last two seasons, Pant has led the team in 28 matches, suffering defeat in 18 of those encounters. Under his stewardship, LSG failed to qualify for the playoffs in consecutive seasons, a statistic that sits poorly with the franchise owners and demanding fanbase.

Compounding the team’s collective struggles is the sharp decline in Pant’s individual batting form. Throughout the IPL 2026 season, he managed only 312 runs at an average of 28.36. This output is far below the lofty expectations set for a batsman of his elite caliber, suggesting that the burdens of captaincy might be actively deteriorating his primary skill set.

Ambati Rayudu’s Critical Advice to Rishabh Pant

Former Indian national batsman Ambati Rayudu has analyzed the situation and offered stark advice to the struggling skipper. Rayudu believes the time has come for Pant to step away from the captaincy entirely and focus on his natural batting strengths.

According to Rayudu, Pant’s leadership style heavily mimics the highly instinctive, gut-based captaincy of his mentor and idol, MS Dhoni. However, Rayudu points out that this specific style is not a universal formula for success and has clearly failed to produce results for LSG.

‐His (Pant’s) idol has always been MS Dhoni. We have seen him talk about him, and MS Dhoni’s captaincy is very, very similar. He is very instinctive, so he might be following that path, which the coaching staff might not be compatible with,‐ Rayudu observed. ‐So, there are so many things; unless and until we hear from Pant as to what his captaincy style is, we can only assume what he’s going through or what he’s thinking. But from the looks of it, he is very, very instinctive and impulsive sometimes. I think the best thing he can do is play as a player.‐

The Rising Pune Supergiants Parallel: MS Dhoni’s Own Captaincy Hurdle

While MS Dhoni is widely celebrated for his calm, instinct-driven captaincy that brought multiple IPL titles to the Chennai Super Kings, history shows this model is not foolproof. Even Dhoni struggled when trying to implement this approach outside of his comfortable CSK environment.

During his stint with the Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in 2016, Dhoni’s instinctive style failed to deliver expected results. This prompted franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka—who now owns the Lucknow Super Giants—to make the ruthless decision to strip Dhoni of the captaincy in 2017, replacing him with Australian batsman Steve Smith. Given this historical precedent, analysts believe Goenka may not hesitate to make a similar executive change with Pant if the team’s trajectory does not improve.

Tactical Failures and the Weight of a Record-Breaking Price Tag

Throughout the IPL 2026 season, Pant’s on-field decision-making faced persistent criticism from commentators and cricket experts. Observers pointed out several recurring tactical errors, including:

• Suboptimal field placements during critical phases of play.
• Confusing bowling rotations and poorly executed defensive plans in the death overs.
• Questionable Decision Review System (DRS) calls that wasted crucial team reviews.
• Inconsistent timing of Impact Player substitutions, which often disrupted the team’s balance.

Additionally, the psychological weight of being the most expensive player in IPL history cannot be discounted. LSG acquired Pant for an astronomical fee of Rs 27 crore ahead of the 2025 season. This record-breaking price tag naturally created immense pressure from the management, media, and fans alike, a burden that seemed to visibly impact both his captaincy decisions and his output with the bat.

Franchise Demands Leadership Review and a Path Forward

Following the final match of the season, LSG’s Director of Cricket, Tom Moody, made it clear that the franchise would not ignore these systemic issues. Moody confirmed that a thorough review of the leadership structure will take place ahead of the next cycle.

‐When it comes to the leadership of the franchise, that is something we will be giving very serious consideration to in terms of what it looks like in the future,‐ Moody stated, signaling that Pant’s position as captain is highly insecure.

Ultimately, Rishabh Pant remains one of India’s most naturally gifted and explosive cricketers. His aggressive batting has won numerous matches for the national team in high-pressure situations. However, when the demands of leadership begin to diminish a player’s core performance, a step back is often the most logical course of action. Relinquishing the captaincy could allow Pant to shed the tactical burdens, rediscover his batting rhythm, and play with the uninhibited freedom that makes him a true match-winner.