Rishabh Pant scored only seven runs off nine balls.
After a dismal previous season, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have also kicked off their IPL 2026 campaign with a trouncing defeat against the Delhi Capitals (DC). All the home teams had won their first fixtures of the ongoing edition so far, but Rishabh Pant and Co. could not carry on the streak at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. Following the loss, ex-DC mentor Kevin Pietersen has criticised Pant’s move to open the innings.
The former England player has questioned the wicketkeeper-batter’s move to promote himself in the LSG batting line-up. Last year, the T20I captains of South Africa and Australia, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh, had done a commendable job at the top of the order. They had notched up 1,072 runs in 13 appearances, laced with 11 fifty-plus knocks and a ton.
But reshuffling the top order has not turned out to be beneficial for the side in their IPL 2026 opener. Following Pant’s unfortunate run-out, Markram was also dismissed for an eight-ball 11, before a disastrous display with the willow saw them get bundled out for just 141 runs under 19 overs.
“When you look at the strength and depth of LSG’s batting, is Rishabh Pant really an opening batter? I think he might have gone a little too far ahead of where he was in the line-up compared to last year,” stated Pietersen in a JioHotstar show.
“Last year, he moved down the order, and now suddenly it’s, ‘I’m going to come up to the top.’ I think he just needs to go out and enjoy his cricket. Don’t force yourself into batting at three, enjoy the luxury of that position. I think he puts himself under tremendous pressure by opening the batting,” he noted.
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The southpaw has established himself as a middle-order batter in all formats of the game. Pant has opened the innings in only 22 matches in his career so far, scoring 665 runs at an average of 30.23. Earlier, he had also opened once for the franchise last year, managing only 21 runs off 18 balls in a home clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT).
The batter’s most runs have also come at No.4 or lower in international cricket as well. While he has been the most successful at No.5 in red-ball cricket, batting a spot higher has been ideal for him in the limited-over fixtures. But during an underwhelming last season, Pant had put up just 123 runs in nine matches while batting at No.4. Though the gloveman might have decided to move to the top in search of his old, blistering form, the numbers suggest that sticking to the middle order may help him get back among the runs in the shortest format.
Moreover, despite Pant’s clinical hundred in the last group-stage match of IPL 2025 while coming in at No.3, LSG should consider continuing with Nicholas Pooran in that slot. The Caribbean big-hitter had played 12 out of his 14 innings at No.3 last season, scoring 466 runs, including five half-centuries at a blazing strike rate of 201.73.
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