3 reasons why LSG appointing Rishabh Pant as captain ahead of IPL 2025 might be the wrong move

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have officially named Rishabh Pant as their new captain ahead of IPL 2025. Pant received a massive bid of ₹27 crore from the Super Giants at the mega auction in November 2023, making him the most expensive player in IPL history.

The wicketkeeper-batter has achieved enormous success in IPL and international cricket. He was a part of the Delhi Capitals squad that finished runners-up in IPL 2020, while in 2024, he won the T20 World Cup with Team India.

Although Rishabh Pant is one of the biggest match-winners in world cricket currently, appointing him as the captain might not be the right move from Lucknow Super Giants. Here are three reasons why -

---

#1 Rishabh Pant had the best IPL season of his career when he was not the captain

Some players enjoy captaincy, with their performances improving significantly when appointed the team's skipper. At the same time, there have also been cricketers whose form took a dip when handed captaincy.

Before joining the Lucknow Super Giants, Rishabh Pant was a part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL from 2016 to 2024. He captained DC in 2021, 2022 and 2024, and in all three seasons, he finished with fewer than 500 runs.

Meanwhile, in 2018, when Pant was not the captain, he aggregated 684 runs in just 14 innings at an average of 52.62 and a strike rate of 173.60. It shows that the wicketkeeper batter performs better with the willow when he isn't dealing with the pressure of captaincy.

---

#2 Rishabh Pant could not lead Delhi Capitals to IPL playoffs in his last 2 seasons as captain

Qualifying for the playoffs is the first target of every franchise in the IPL. Lucknow Super Giants have played three seasons so far, and they have made it to the playoffs twice already while playing under KL Rahul's captaincy.

As mentioned above, Rishabh Pant led Delhi Capitals in three seasons previously, where the team qualified for the playoffs only once, which was in 2021. In 2022 and 2024, DC narrowly missed out on a spot in the playoffs.

Considering how much result-oriented the LSG team management has been, Pant will be under enormous pressure to deliver as a captain now.

---

#3 Overseas captaincy options?

LSG made some interesting signings at the IPL 2025 auction. Apart from Rishabh Pant, the Lucknow-based franchise also roped in stalwarts like Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and David Miller. Besides, they also had Nicholas Pooran in the squad, who captained the franchise whenever KL Rahul was unavailable last season.

With Justin Langer as head coach, LSG could have considered Mitchell Marsh as a captaincy option. Marsh captained Australia in the T20 World Cup last year. Meanwhile, Pooran, Miller and Markram have previous experience of captaincy in international cricket and the IPL.

Letting Pant play as a specialist wicketkeeper would have allowed him to bring his natural game to the fore and benefit the team more.