Lucknow Super Giants are set to consider a leadership overhaul after two dismal IPL campaigns, with Tom Moody saying Rishabh Pant has struggled to cope with the demands of captaincy. Moody made the remark after Lucknow’s seven-wicket loss to Punjab Kings on Saturday, May 25, 2026, at 10:04 AM ET.
“From a captaincy point of view, he’s found it challenging, and the results reflect that,” Moody told reporters, putting the spotlight squarely on Pant after another disappointing defeat. Lucknow finished seventh in 2025 and then ended the 2026 season in last place, a slide that has sharpened pressure on the team’s leadership structure.
The discussion now centers on whether Lucknow should stick with Pant or move in a different direction before the next IPL cycle. The source does not say any final decision has been made, but the review itself shows how quickly the franchise’s patience has thinned after back-to-back campaigns that failed to deliver.
The issue also lands at a time when the wider IPL 2026 race is moving into its decisive stage, with Rajasthan Royals facing Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator and Gujarat Titans taking on the winner in Qualifier 2 to decide RCB’s opponent. In another parallel storyline, Krunal Pandya’s bouncer, the viral reaction and his all-round role helped lift RCB, adding to the pressure and contrast around a season that has punished teams unable to settle on leadership.
For Pant, the next phase may matter less for the loss itself than for what it says about his standing inside the team. Lucknow have one more hard question to answer before the offseason begins: whether the captaincy problem is something they can fix, or something they now have to replace.
