Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant has finally broken his silence on his surprising decision not to bat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2026 clash on Friday (May 15) in Lucknow. Rishabh Pant's move left everyone puzzled, as he has already been struggling badly with form this season.
Pant was fully padded up, sitting in the dugout, and was ready to walk in, but didn’t come out to bat during Lucknow Super Giants’ chase against Chennai Super Kings at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow and this left everyone shocked.
LSG beats CSK in IPL 2026 clash, but Rishabh Pant’s decision raises eyebrows
LSG were cruising in the chase after a brilliant 135-run opening partnership off just 70 balls between Mitchell Marsh (90 off 30 balls) and Josh Inglis (36 runs off 32 balls). They looked completely in control, but after Inglis’ wickets, many expected Pant to walk in and finish the game for his side.
Read Also: Virat Kohli makes shocking revelation on modern T20 cricket
Surprisingly, the LSG captain stayed back in the dugout, and instead, Nicholas Pooran came in, followed by Abdul Samad and Mukul Choudhary.
Even after a few wickets fell, Pant still did not bat as LSG comfortably completed the chase with seven wickets in hand and 20 balls to spare. Soon after the match, everybody was speculating about why the ₹27 crore captain did not come to bat.
Rishabh Pant finally breaks the silence on why he did not bat against CSK
Now, Rishabh Pant finally explained the reason behind the decision. Pant admitted that he wanted to bat and was ready, but he had to accept the team management’s decision.
The Lucknow Super Giants skipper revealed that the team management wanted to give chances to players who had not gotten enough opportunities this season, and he just respected their decision.
Rishabh Pant said at the post-match presentation as quoted by Cricbuzz: “I was ready to bat, and the idea came up. I was in the dressing room, and the idea came in like, why not try players who have not played much? They haven't gotten much chance. And that was the idea. I was thinking again and again, should I do it or not? Because I still wanted to be out there in the field, but sometimes you have to respect the think tank's decision. So that's the thing.”
Read Also: Mohsin Naqvi to visit India? PCB chief summoned for ICC meeting during IPL 2026 final
Rishabh Pant reveals LSG’s original plan failed, and multiple opinions in IPL 2026
Meanwhile, Pant revealed that the Lucknow Super Giants had planned from the start of IPL 2026 to use their overseas batters in the top order. The idea was to have two foreign openers with Nicholas Pooran batting at number three, and the skipper lamented that it could not happen because of injuries and inconsistent performances.
Pant added, “See, definitely that was the first thought. That is getting two overseas players to open the innings and Nicky (Pooran) batting at three. That was the idea. Sometimes it's difficult when a thought process is not being implemented all the time. But at the same time, we take pride, and we are confident as a team.”
The LSG captain also hinted that handling different opinions inside the team setup made things even more challenging this season. He signed off by saying, “The only thing that can harm us is having too many thought processes.”
