Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant took a bold call to come out to open alongside Mitchell Marsh instead of Aiden Markram during their Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) opener against Delhi Capitals (DC). The call was surprising since the LSG overseas opening duo of Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh was a proven success formula after their stellar last season, where they finished as the second-highest run-scorers amongst opening pairs with 574 runs in 12 innings comprising four fifty-plus stands and one century partnership.
Furthermore, Pant’s opening move backfired after he was unfortunately dismissed by a runout where the bowler Mukesh Kumar managed to get a fingertip to the ball as it headed toward the non-striker’s wicket after a defence by Mitch Marsh. During his nine-ball stay, Rishabh Pant failed to look dangerous and managed just one boundary before walking back to the pavilion.
This begs the question if Rishabh Pant should continue to open or make the shift to middle order.
While he had mostly played in the middle order in his career, Rishabh Pant was promoted to No.3 to maximise his attacking abilities during the title-winning T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. However, he made the shift back to middle order in No.4 in his maiden season with LSG in IPL 2025.
The move did not exactly suit him as Rishabh managed just 115 runs across nine innings at a paltry average of 15.4 and just one fifty. His dot ball percentage was a massive 50.4% which prompted him to move back to No.3 in their final league game and he ended up scoring a century. The knock was a clear indication of why the Indian management promoted him and where he should bat ideally.
Let’s evaluate his overall performance in different positions to better understand.
The data clearly highlights that the dynamic left-hander peforms better in top-order with a significant rise in his strike rate and balls per boundary.
Batting in the first six overs means tackling fast bowlers and Pant is an excellent pace hitter which backs his strengths. On the other hand, he has faced difficulties against spin and slower balls, struggling against wide lines coupled with inconsistent shot selection.
Pant visibly has a better strike rate against pacers of over 150s with an average of 40 against left-arm fast bowlers while dominating right-arm quicks with an aggressive strike rate and better balls per boundary.
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When quizzed if Rishabh Pant will open or not, he had said ’50-50′ after the clash against DC but also confirmed that he will bat in the ‘top-order’. His analysis seems to be on point if we make sense of the above analysis.
Rishabh should consider moving from opening the batting and entrust the designated openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram to continue in the role. He should, however, not step down to the middle order either as the numbers don’t reflect his best performance. The optimal position for Pant thus remains No.3 where he can utilise the powerplay conditions and take advantage of his pace hitting.
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