Rishabh Pant ‘under pressure,’ to bat at No.3 for LSG:Nicholas Pooran to move down the order in 2026 season

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant is set to play a key role in the upcoming IPL 2026 season, which begins on March 28. Pant is expected to bat at number three, a position that the team management believes suits him best. This season is very important for Pant, both as a captain and a batter. After a disappointing season in 2025, he will be looking to make a strong comeback and lead his team with confidence. The stakes are even higher as LSG had spent a record Rs 27 crore to bring him into the squad during the 2025 mega auction. Fans and experts will be watching closely to see how he performs. Rishabh Pant set to bat at No.3 for LSG in IPL 2026 Last season, Pant mostly batted at number four but moved to number three towards the end. However, by then, it was too late to change LSG’s results. Pant scored a century at No. 3 in Lucknow’s last league game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Also read: Punjab Kings aim for maiden IPL crown under Shreyas Iyer: PBKS SWOT analysis; onus on explosive openers Priyansh Prabhsimran This year, the team has clearly planned to use him at number three from the start. Nicholas Pooran will move down the order, while positions four, five, and six will remain flexible depending on match situations. “It is clear to the team management as well as Pant that his game is best suited for number three. This season the top-order is locked in with Aiden, Marsh and Pant. The middle-order is flexible and players will be floated as per the game situation,” an IPL source told PTI. Team preparation and squad balance ahead of clash against Delhi LSG recently held a training camp in Chennai and are now preparing at their home ground in Lucknow. They will begin their campaign against the Delhi Capitals on April 1. The team has a strong middle order with players like Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, and Shabaz Ahmed. However, Pant’s own performance will be crucial to setting the tone. Last season, Pant scored 269 runs at a strike rate of 133.17, with 118 runs coming in a single innings. He will aim to improve his consistency this time. LSG’s injury concerns and lack of bowling depth Bowling was a weak area for LSG last season due to injuries to key pacers like Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan. Other bowlers included Avesh Khan and Anrich Nortje, who have also faced fitness issues. “The batting is settled. The bowling group looks a lot better than last year but combinations are yet to be worked. Mayank is fit but needs to bowl a lot more in the nets. Hopefully he will repay the faith the team has shown him over the past four to five years,” the source added. Also read: ‘Iss saal No. 6’, Rohit Sharma promises to MI fans: Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya request Mumbai crowd to call ‘Hitman’ on stage ‘Pressure on Pant’ – Faf du Plessis Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis believes Pant is under the most pressure this season. He said, “For me, Rishabh Pant is probably the player in the IPL, who is under the most pressure this season. Some guys flourish under the price tag pressure, while some don t. I think last season was a really tough one for him. The team struggled, and he also struggled with runs in the way that he batted.” “So, there is all that pressure coming into the season, along with the expectations of what the team is going to do. With a batting-heavy team, how are they going to maximise their bowling?” he added further. “Because there is pressure on your Captain, scoring runs is your first job. So, if he is scoring runs as a Captain, it takes pressure off in the first instance. But then there is a second instance, which is the team performance overall. And last year, both of those things had big red crosses against them,” Du Plessis concluded Jio Star.