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NEW DELHI: An emotional video of Rishabh Pant thanking fans after Lucknow Super Giants’ disastrous IPL 2026 campaign has gone viral on social media amid growing speculation over a leadership change at the franchise.After another disappointing season, Lucknow Super Giants are reportedly considering a major reset following their bottom-place finish in the 10-team standings. LSG won just four of their 14 league matches this season, extending a worrying decline after finishing seventh in IPL 2025. Pant’s emotional address to supporters after the campaign quickly became a talking point online, with many fans interpreting it as a sign of the immense pressure surrounding the India wicketkeeper-batter.“Thank you so much. You know, it’s been a tough season. It’s been a lot of hard work… Thanks for coming out, regardless of anything,” Pant said in the viral clip. “We’re gonna do good as a team. Let’s stick together… thanks for giving so much trust.”WATCH:Leadership doubts grow after another poor seasonThe viral moment came just days after LSG Director of Cricket Tom Moody openly admitted Pant had struggled with the pressures of captaincy during the campaign.“From a captaincy point of view, he’s found it challenging, obviously, and the results reflect that,” Moody said after LSG’s seven-wicket loss to Punjab Kings in their final league game.“And you do have to wonder whether that pressure is reflected in his performance with the bat.”Under Pant’s leadership, LSG have managed just 10 wins in 28 matches across two IPL seasons. The franchise’s struggles have intensified scrutiny on the wicketkeeper-batter, especially after he was bought for a record Rs 27 crore.Pant’s batting slump adds to concernsPant’s difficulties have not been limited to captaincy alone. Once regarded as one of India’s most destructive T20 batters, he has failed to consistently reproduce his earlier IPL brilliance since joining LSG.The left-hander had produced sensational seasons in 2018 and 2019, scoring 684 and 488 runs respectively at strike rates above 160. Across the last two seasons with LSG, however, Pant has managed only 581 runs at a strike rate of 135.74 — well below his career IPL strike rate.The difficult IPL campaign has also coincided with setbacks in international cricket. Pant recently lost India’s Test vice-captaincy to KL Rahul and was dropped from the ODI squad.Moody indicated that major decisions could now follow inside the franchise.“We haven’t lived up to the expectation or the standard that we expect of ourselves,” Moody admitted.“When it comes to the leadership of the franchise, it’s certainly something that we’ll be taking very serious consideration to.”
