Former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is reportedly set to gain a bigger role at the Lucknow Super Giants despite the team’s disastrous IPL 2026. LSG finished at the bottom of the IPL 2026 points table and missed the playoffs for the third year in a row.
Earlier this year, Williamson was appointed as Strategic Advisor to LSG. After LSG’s disastrous season, Head Coach Justin Langer and captain Rishabh Pant are reportedly under fire for not delivering results.
Williamson is currently in action for New Zealand against Ireland in the team’s one-off Test in Belfast.
Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2026
After finishing seventh in IPL 2025, LSG made certain changes to their coaching staff, but Head Coach Justin Langer and bowling coach Bharat Arun retained their jobs. In IPL 2026, LSG didn’t fare any better than last time.
After winning two of their first three games, the franchise slipped to lose 6 in a row, with captain Rishabh Pant and Head Coach Justin Langer unable to hold things together. LSG was the first team to be eliminated from playoffs contention in IPL 2026 despite consolation wins in their last few matches.
Pant and Langer under fire
As reported by RevSportz, both Rishabh Pant and Justin Langer are in the line of fire and might, in fact, lose their jobs. Pant was signed by LSG for Rs 27 crores before the IPL 2025 auction and has not delivered with either the bat or as the leader.
Langer, too, has not achieved any significant results as Head Coach. His exit as the Head Coach of the Australian National Team had come under controversial circumstances as well. After IPL 2023, Langer was appointed to his current role following the exit of Zimbabwean Andy Flower.
Under Flower, LSG made the playoffs twice in two years, but have never made the top four in three years under Langer. Flower has been with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru since and led them to the IPL title last year.
Pant, too, was criticised by many experts because of his lack of effective leadership and not converting potential into results. According to the report, Bharat Arun’s job seems safe, considering the success of uncapped pacers like Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan in IPL 2026. Prince was recently called up to the Indian squad for the ODIs against Afghanistan next month.
Contrary to earlier reports, Pant and LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka aren’t at odds with each other yet, and any decision on Pant’s future will purely be a cricketing one. Those decisions have been deferred to the future for now.
Kane Williamson’s ties with LSG management
Kane Williamson’s role with LSG seemingly goes beyond being appointed Strategic Advisor for IPL 2026. Earlier this year, he played for Durban’s Super Giants in the SA20 after his IPL appointment.
Reportedly, he has garnered respect in the LSG dressing room in his short stay and could even replace Langer. His pedigree as a cricketer also makes him an attractive choice compared to Tom Moody, who is currently LSG’s global Director of Cricket Operations.
At Williamson’s appointment, Goenka said, “His leadership, strategic insight, deep understanding of the game, and ability to inspire players make him an invaluable addition to the team.”
“We will reflect on all things” - Tom Moody
After LSG’s last match of the season, Tom Moody said at the post-match press conference that the team would perform a thorough review of the season and decide what steps should be taken.
“From a captaincy point of view, you know, he (Pant) has found it challenging, obviously, and the results reflect that,” he said. “And you do have to wonder whether that is a pressure that is reflected in his performance with the bat. I know that this season has been a difficult season for us, but we will reflect on it, we will take time, we will reflect on it. We will consider all things.”
“Like every department, when you do reflect on a season, we will be making some considered decisions, but it certainly looks like that we need to consider a reset,” he added.
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