Rishabh Pant to be Sacked? Tom Moody Hints at Leadership Change After LSG’s Disastrous Season

Rishabh Pant and LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka were seen having animated conversations on multiple occasions throughout the 2026 IPL season.

Rishabh Pant to be Sacked? Tom Moody Hints at Leadership Change After LSG’s Disastrous Season

Rishabh Pant could be removed as LSG captain ahead of IPL 2027, as suggested by team director Tom Moody. (Image via India Today)

In Short
  • Rishabh Pant faces potential dismissal as captain of Lucknow Super Giants after a disappointing IPL 2026 season.
  • Tom Moody hinted at a leadership change, emphasizing the need for a team reset following LSG's last-place finish.
  • Several players, including Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran, may be released as part of a significant squad overhaul ahead of IPL 2027.

Following an unsuccessful IPL 2026 season for Lucknow Super Giants, captain Rishabh Pant faces a real threat of being dismissed from his leadership role. Team director Tom Moody‘s recent remarks hinted at an impending change in LSG’s leadership structure.

Lucknow Super Giants concluded their IPL campaign with only eight points from 14 matches, as they suffered their tenth defeat of the season against Punjab Kings at the Ekana Stadium on Saturday. The seven-wicket defeat to PBKS meant that LSG would earn the ‘wooden spoon’, finishing at the bottom of the standings.

Despite putting up a competitive first-innings total of 196/6, guided by Josh Inglis’ 72 and Ayush Badoni’s 43, the hosts saw the target being chased down in just 18 overs, courtesy Shreyas Iyer’s hundred.

LSG’s inability to qualify for the playoffs in two consecutive IPL seasons has placed the responsibility squarely on captain Rishabh Pant. He was signed at the 2025 Mega-Auction for a record-breaking INR 27 crore and was expected to be the face of the team. However, his two-season tenure has seen meager returns. Across the 28 matches Pant has captained, LSG has only secured 10 wins while suffering 18 defeats, including a dismal seventh place finish last summer.

It seems that the tactical burden of captaincy has got the better of Pant as a batter, given he has only scored 581 runs in his two seasons in Lucknow. This season, he scraped a mere 312 runs in 14 matches, at a woeful average of 28.36 and a strike-rate of 138.05, with just one fifty. Because of the increased scrutiny, it is not unimaginable that the 28-year-old might lose his captaincy ahead of IPL 2027, something that was alluded to in the statements made by LSG Director of Cricket, Tom Moody.

When addressing reporters, Moody discussed the team’s disappointing season. On a potential captaincy change, the Australian legend surprisingly suggested that the team management might be taking some crucial decisions while keeping the future in mind. He further noted the need for a ‘reset’ across every aspect, although he quickly clarified that he had not commented on any individual player performance.

From a captaincy point of view, you know, he’s [Rishabh Pant] found it challenging, obviously, and the results reflect that… And certainly when it comes to leadership, it’s certainly something that we’ll be taking some very serious consideration to, you know, what it looks like in the future. It certainly looks like we’re needing to consider a reset.

Tom Moody at a press conference (H/T ESPN Cricinfo)

Should the franchise opt to replace Rishabh Pant as captain before IPL 2026, several alternative candidates have emerged. Potential options include Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh, while acquiring an experienced player from a different team is also a possibility.

LSG’s last-place hangover: The big names who could face the axe ahead of IPL 2027

LSG, after finishing at the bottom of the IPL 2026 standings, could release several players with the aim of completing a massive squad overhaul. The franchise struggled to find form in the tournament, and even became the first team to be eliminated. 

LSG release players IPL 2027
LSG could release players like Mayank Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, and Aiden Markram ahead of IPL 2027, aiming for a complete squad revamp. (via NDTV Sports)

Out of the 14 league stage matches, LSG won just 4, while losing 10. Mitchell Marsh was Lucknow’s standout batter, having scored 563 runs in 13 matches at an average of 43.30 and a strike-rate of 163.18, including a hundred and three fifties. Prince Yadav and Mohammed Shami were the standout performers in the bowling department, as the two pacers finished with 16 and 13 wickets, respectively. 

Among the many players who could face the axe, Aiden Markram’s name seems to be on top. The South African, whose performance was hindered by frequent changes to his batting position, only managed to score 231 runs across 12 matches. He is followed by Digvesh Rathi, who took just five wickets. Other players who might be released are Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, M Siddharth, and Arshin Kulkarni.

The biggest name, however, remains that of Nicholas Pooran, who struggled to score runs consistently during the season. The 30-year-old concluded his 14 matches with only 234 runs, at a low average of just 18 and a strike-rate of 127.86, and a single score of 50 or more.

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