Former South African batsman Faf du Plessis Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant is under the most pressure to succeed in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL), not just as a batsman but also as a captain, has claimed.
Pant made a big-money move to LSG during last year's mega auction, where he joined the Lucknow-based franchise for a record sum of Rs 27 crore. Du Plessis believes that the pressure of the price tag weighed heavily on the wicketkeeper-batsman last time around, leading to a disappointing season.
“For me, Rishabh Pant Perhaps these are the players of IPL who are under the most pressure this season. Some people thrive under the pressure of a price tag, while others don't. I think last season was really tough for him. The way he batted, the team struggled and the way he batted, it also struggled to score runs. So, there is all the pressure coming into the season, as well as the expectations of what the team is going to do,” Du Plessis said on JioStar.
Du Plessis wants Pant to perform to his full potential. LSG team has a batting heavy side and if he can contribute, it will reduce the pressure on the bowling.
“With a strong batting team, how will they maximize their bowling? Because there is pressure on your captain, scoring runs is your first job. So, if he is scoring runs as a captain, the pressure is reduced in the first instance. But then there is a second example, which is the overall team performance. And last year, there were big red crosses against both these things,” he said.
Last year, during the IPL, Pant was successful in scoring 269 runs. However, that all changed with his unbeaten 118 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the end of the season. The 27-year-old has not played any professional T20 matches since that tour in Lucknow, which could be a factor in his overall form at the start of the 2026 IPL.
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