New Delhi: Head Coach of Lucknow Supergiants Justin Langer Has thrown his full support behind the captain. Rishabh Pant Despite another disappointing outing in IPL 2026, the wicketkeeper-batsman insists it’s “not far off” to rediscover his best.Another defeat for LSG Mumbai Indians On Monday, it left them at the bottom of the table with just two wins from nine matches. Much of the scrutiny has focused on Pant’s form and his decision to change the batting order, but Langer defended both strongly.Revealing a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Pant’s recent form, Langer highlighted the impressive practice performances that assured the team management of his readiness.“We played a practice game here two days ago, and Rishi … maybe 95 off 40 or 30 balls – you look at him and you go, ‘Oh my God, that’s Rishabh Pant at his best,'” Langer said.“So, he’s a very good player; we know that. We’ve seen him destroy teams at number five in Test cricket, and we felt today… he can be a good option for the team.”A ‘selfless’ move for the teamPant decided to push himself down the order. Nicholas Puran For batting high, eyebrows were raised — but Langer called it an unselfish call taken purely in the interest of the team.“He selflessly dictated the batting to Niki P, whose batting was unbelievable,” explained Langer, referring to Pooran’s explosive 63 off 21 balls.Backing his captain’s leadership, Langer added, “As a captain in the IPL… you have to keep going. That’s all you can do, and he’s going to keep going and hopefully help us get some wins.”The coach also dismissed suggestions that Pant’s record price was affecting his performance.“Honestly, I don’t think money has anything to do with it… Leadership is a tough position, you’re taking on a lot of pressure, and he knows that,” he said. “He’s working hard … and he’s not far off.”Pant admitted that LSG had a declinePant himself admitted that LSG left runs on the table after a strong start.“Definitely, the way we started, I think we should have scored more runs… We dropped 10-15 runs because it was a 220-230 wicket,” he said.Refusing to blame the bowlers, Pant admitted that the team needed a bit of luck to turn things around. “I think we need some good luck … and it’s definitely going to take some more effort on our part.”With their play-off hopes hanging by a thread, LSG will now hope that Pant’s brilliant practice performance turns into a match-winning performance soon.
