Former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath believes that the wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant India's white ball setup has fallen out of favour. He said that the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 will be important for the left-hander as he looks to make a comeback to the national team.
Pant faced a disappointing campaign in IPL 2025, scoring just 269 runs at an average of less than 25 in 14 matches for Lucknow Super Giants. Despite being the most expensive signing in the mega auction, acquired at a whopping price of Rs 27 crore, he struggled to perform consistently.
“There will be a lot of focus on Rishabh Pant. We should not forget that he was the most expensive player in the auction two years ago. So there will be a lot of expectations from him. It is clear that he has fallen out of favor with the Indian white-ball team. They are only looking at him as a red-ball player,” Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.
He said, “If he is to grab the limelight in white-ball cricket, the upcoming IPL season is huge for Pant. Captaincy has curtailed his free-flowing batting. He has not been very consistent in the last two IPL seasons. He has not done very well in white-ball cricket. Barring a century at the end, he had done nothing last season. It was just a face-saving century.”
Badrinath has downplayed LSG's chances of a successful campaign in IPL 2026, saying that their progress could depend on the poor performance of other teams. However, he acknowledged the franchise's strong overseas batting lineup, which includes players like Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran and Josh Inglis, who all bring significant firepower to the team.
“They are not a great team. Apart from performing well, the only time they have a chance is when other teams mess up. But they have great overseas batsmen and a good bowling lineup too,” Badrinath said.
LSG finished in the top four during the IPL 2022 and 2023 seasons, but failed to qualify for the playoffs in the last two editions. They will aim to make a strong start to their IPL 2026 campaign when they take on Delhi Capitals on April 1.
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