Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer has thrown his full support behind captain Rishabh Pant despite another disappointing outing in the IPL 2026, insisting the wicketkeeper-batter is “not far off” rediscovering his best.LSG slumped to yet another defeat, against Mumbai Indians on Monday, leaving them rooted to the bottom of the table with just two wins in nine matches. Much of the scrutiny has centred on Pant’s form and his decision to shuffle the batting order, but Langer offered a strong defence of both.Revealing a glimpse of Pant’s recent form behind the scenes, Langer highlighted a stunning practice performance that convinced the team management of his readiness.“We played a practice game here two days ago, and Rishi… maybe 95 off 40 or 30 balls — you’re just looking at it and you go, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s Rishabh Pant at his very best,’” Langer said.“So, he’s a very good player; we know that. We’ve seen him in Test cricket destroy teams at number five, and we felt today… it might be a good option for the team.”‘Selfless’ move for the teamPant’s decision to push himself down the order, allowing Nicholas Pooran to bat higher, raised eyebrows — but Langer described it as a selfless call taken purely in the team’s interest.“He selflessly moved down the order to let Nicky P bat, whose batting was unbelievable,” Langer explained, referring to Pooran’s explosive 63 off 21 balls.Backing his captain’s leadership, Langer added, “As a captain in the IPL… you’ve got to keep fronting up. That’s all you can do, and he’ll keep fronting up and hopefully help us get some wins.”The coach also dismissed suggestions that Pant’s record price tag is affecting his performances.“Honestly, I don’t think the money has anything to do with it… leadership is a tough position, you’re carrying lots of pressure, and he knows that,” he said. “He’s working hard… and he’s not far off.”Pant admits LSG fell shortPant himself acknowledged that LSG left runs on the table after a strong start.“Definitely, the way we started, I think we should have gotten more runs… we were short 10-15 runs because it was a 220-230 wicket,” he said.While refusing to blame the bowlers, Pant admitted the team needs a bit of fortune to turn things around. “I think we need some good luck… and it’s going to take some more effort from us, for sure.”With their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, LSG will now hope Pant’s practice brilliance soon translates into match-winning performances.
