Indian wicketkeeper and batter Rishabh Pant is in the news once more. According to a report carried by CricBlogger, the 28-year-old was sacked as the Lucknow Super Giants captain. Pant, who was purchased for INR 27 crore during the 2025 auctions, had led his side to a tenth-place finish during the season.

Days after the league season was over, it came to light that the cricketer had decided to step down as the captain of the side. The aforementioned website quoted an unnamed source as saying, “Questions are being raised over the haste with which Pant was removed as captain immediately after the IPL season. At the same time, Pant too appeared keen to secure a move elsewhere rather than continue with a franchise where he no longer felt valued,”

As per the latest reports, Rishabh is taking a massive pay cut to head back to the Delhi Capitals ahead of the next season. Trade with LSG will see Kuldeep Yadav go the other way and finally play for his home team. It is unlikely that the wicketkeeper and batter will be given the captaincy once again on his return to DC.

Is Rishabh Pant’s time with LSG a complete failure?

After becoming the costliest player in the league, Rishabh Pant was also handed the leadership of the side. Team owner Sanjiv Goenka had said, “Moment Pant wasn’t retained, we planned the team around him. Have said this a few times that Rishabh is a terrific leader, and there is more to come.”

That confidence didn’t play out as expected since the Super Giants finished seventh in 2025 and took the wooden spoon a year later. With the bat as well, the cricketer suffered, scoring just two fifties and a century during his stint at the Ekana Stadium. The separation was well on the cards after the skipper was seen losing his composure during the fag end of the season and even dropped an F-bomb during a live interview.

One person who is not convinced of the proposed DC and LSG player trade is former India batter Mohammad Kaif. The 45-year-old said on his YouTube channel, “If Delhi send Kuldeep to LSG, there cannot be a bigger mistake than this. Forget this one year. You do not judge a player in one year. Ganguly is also there. He always says not to judge someone who has been playing for ten years on the basis of one season.”