Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant took a bold call to open the innings during their match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) tonight (April 1) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). The decision was slightly surprising since LSG already had a successful overseas opening duo of Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh, who were the second-highest scoring opening pair last season.
However, Pant struggled with the bat last season and had also experimented with his position while scoring a ton at No.3, which raised speculation over his batting slot in IPL 2026. He eventually decided to bat in the top-order and took the onus of opening alongside Mitchell Marsh.
Pant’s promotion to the top also meant that Nicholas Pooran, who batted at No.3 in IPL 2025 was demoted to No.5 with the young Ayush Badoni batting ahead of the Caribbean star.
When quizzed about the tweaks in the LSG batting lineup, Pant clarified during the post-match presentation of the LSG vs DC game,
“I think the idea was very simple. Like he’s (Nicholas Pooran) taking the charge in the middle overs. He’s not batting in the top order anymore because I’m batting up the order. And that’s why it happened because, you know, we wanted to explore that lefty-righty option at the top so they couldn’t bowl a left-arm spinner. Unfortunately, I got out at the wrong time. Otherwise, Axar Patel still had to bowl one over in the power play and that gives us the edge over them. But at the same time, you know, it’s part and parcel of the game and that’s the role we are defining for Badoni, when the situation is tough like that, when we lose early wickets, that’s the time he needs to make a mark.”
He added, “(On opening for rest of the season) I think it’s a 50-50 call, but we’ll see. But you will definitely see me in the top order.”
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The decision, however, did not work in the LSG skipper’s favour after he had to walk back to the dugout, being dismissed cheaply for 7(9). Although it was no fault of Pant and was an unfortunate dismissal, where Mukesh Kumar completed a runout off his own bowling after managing to get a fingertip off a Mitchell Marsh defence that was headed towards the wicket at the non-striker’s end.
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