LSG skipper Rishabh Pant likely to bat at No. 3; IPL's costliest player's fate hangs in balance post 2025 poor show

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant is all set to bat at No.3 in IPL 2026 in what could potentially be a do-or-die season for him with the franchise.

Rishabh Pant endured a forgettable season with LSG in 2025 after he was acquired for a whopping amount of ₹27 crore at the mega auction.

By doing so, the wicketkeeper-batter became the most expensive player in the history of IPL, but so far, he has been unable to justify his price tag.

He batted at No.4 for most part of IPL 2025, before promoting himself to No.3 towards the end of the season. The Uttarakhand-born cricketer, who was part of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2024, last played a T20I against Sri Lanka in July 2024.

He has recently fallen out of favour, majorly due to the rise of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, both of whom were part of India's title-winning side in the 2026 T20 World Cup. With Pant batting at No.3, Nicholas Pooran will bat down the order.

The batting spots between No.4 and No.6 will be kept flexible, and will be used as floating batting positions. Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad and Shahbaz Ahmed are LSG's middle-order batters.

“It is clear to the team management as well as Pant that his game is best suited for number three. This season the top-order is locked in with Aiden, Marsh and Pant. The middle-order is flexible and players will be floated as per the game situation,” an IPL source was quoted as saying by PTI.

LSG's bowlers struggled in IPL 2025 due to inconsistency and injuries to key players. Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan were ruled out of IPL 2025 due to injuries, whereas Avesh Khan and Anrich Nortje were the other pace bowling options.

“The batting is settled. The bowling group looks a lot better than last year but combinations are yet to be worked. Mayank is fit but needs to bowl a lot more in the nets. Hopefully he will repay the faith the team has shown him over the past four to five years,” added the source.

Should Rishabh Pant enjoy a stellar IPL 2026 season, that could pave way for him to return to India's limited-overs setups. Lucknow Super Giants, who finished seventh in IPL 2025, will begin their IPL 2026 campaign with a game against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Lucknow on 1 April.