Captain of Lucknow Supergiants Rishabh Pant He admitted that the lack of clarity about roles and the constant chopping and changing of the batting order have hurt the team badly during their disappointing IPL 2026 campaign. Speaking at the Toss 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 within the squad, which he believed had contributed to their poor season.
“The only thing is moving forward with more clarity. We know we are the top players, but at the same time, when clarity is sometimes missing, it can happen in cricket,” Pant said. “So most of the time, it’s about clarity, and there are some changes in the batting order, so hopefully we can figure that out and take it for next season,” he added. LSG find themselves in a desperate situation heading into the match. While RCB are third on the IPL 2026 points table with 12 points from nine matches, Lucknow have managed just four points from as many games and are looking to be out of the playoff race. Defeat against Bengaluru would make LSG the first team to be officially knocked out this season, while a win for RCB would take them to the top of the standings ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings. Pant, who has been under a lot of pressure as both captain and batsman, also stressed the importance of maintaining stability within the T20 team, although he admitted that the team was forced to look for changes due to their position in the tournament. “It’s important to have a stable environment in T20 cricket, but at the same time, when changes are needed, you have to be able to change something, because every time, you can’t get the same result by doing the same thing,” Pant explained. “So sometimes it’s definitely not a bad option to try, especially where we’re standing right now,” he added. Pant also gave his assessment of Lucknow’s level ahead of the must-win clash and predicted a relatively better batting wicket than what the teams have experienced at the venue this season. “It definitely looks like 180-190 wickets,” he said. It is definitely a better wicket than many matches. Personally, Pant has had an equally difficult season. The wicketkeeper batsman has struggled to make a big impact with the bat and has scored 204 runs in nine matches at an average of 25.50 and a strike rate of 128.30.
