Rishabh Pant out of IPL 2026! Shocking verdict dropped by Ex-BCCI selector

Will the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Rishabh Pant, be able to make a comeback soon in the ongoing IPL 2026 season? The question has been raised as the keeper-batter sustained a fresh injury. Pant injured his elbow while batting against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Josh Hazelwood on April 15 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

With the injured elbow, the LSG captain missed most of the match. He eventually came for batting, but missed the second innings entirely. Without the captain on the field, LSG registered its third defeat in the season in 5 games.

Rishabh Pant doesn't look like he'll play the rest of the season - Kris Srikkanth

Former India batter Kris Srikkanth claimed that Rishabh Pant can miss the remainder of the ongoing season because of the injury. The former batter also predicted that LSG has no chance of getting a ticket for the play-offs this year.

Hailing the bowling department of the team, Srikkanth takes a jab at the team’s batting set-up, labelling it a ‘horrendous side’.

“Rishabh Pant doesn't look like he'll play the rest of the season. LSG is a horrendous side. Only their bowling is pretty good. But it's been five matches now, and their batting doesn't look like it'll fire at all. Everyone says LSG hasn't given away 200 yet. But they have to score 200 to concede it back, which they never do,” Srikkanth said in his YouTube video.

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Kris Srikkanth asks LSG to bench three overseas batters

Rishabh Pant’s innings lasted for only 6 balls as the RCB pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed him for only 1 run. Apart from Mitchell Marsh, the other top-order batters of LSG flopped completely against RCB. As a result, they managed to post only 146 runs of 10 wickets in their 20-over limit.

The ex-Team India cricketer slammed the Lucknow Super Giants' batting combination with brutal words. He suggests the team management bench Marsh, Aiden Markram, and Nicholas Pooran to provide a chance to some fresh talent.

“LSG batted horribly, and it was unwatchable. Markram is a dirty cricketer. Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, and Markram should all be benched. Enough of waiting for them to score big. Make all three sit and bring in new guys as replacements. Anyway, they have no chance of qualifying from now,” he added in the video.

Srikkanth rules out LSG from the IPL 2026 play-offs contention

The uncapped Indian batters, Ayush Badoni (38) and Mukul Choudhary (39), helped the team to secure a total of 146 runs on board, which was not enough to prevent the defending champions RCB from claiming a win in the match. Bengaluru won the match by 5 wickets and 29 balls to spare.

Srikkanth said that LSG needs to depend on their young batters to score most of the runs, which is a massive drawback for the team. Because of a lack of continuity in the batting, the former cricketer ruled out the Super Giants from the play-offs contention with immediate effect.

“Imagine LSG is dependent on Ayush Badoni, Mukul Choudhary, and Abdul Samad to save them. That's the kind of team they are at the moment. They are definitely out of contention already. They don't give any confidence that they are going to fire with the bat," said Srikkanth.

Read More: Rishabh Pant torn apart by India legend for “zero contribution” to LSG in IPL 2026