Rishabh Pant Needs Strong IPL 2026 To Revive White-Ball Career: S. Badrinath

S Badrinath said Rishabh Pant has fallen out of favour in India’s white-ball setup and needs a strong IPL 2026 to revive his form.

Former cricketer S Badrinath opined that Rishabh Pant is no longer part of India’s preferred white-ball plans. He believes IPL 2026 could shape Pant’s comeback chances. Pant had a difficult IPL 2025 with Lucknow Super Giants. He scored 269 runs in 14 matches with an average below 25. The franchise had signed him for INR 27 crore during the mega auction.

Badrinath noted that expectations remain high due to his price and reputation. He added that Pant now appears limited to red-ball cricket in national selection. The former cricketer also pointed to inconsistency over the last 2 IPL seasons. Badrinath feels captaincy may have affected Pant’s natural batting approach.

“There will be a lot of focus on Rishabh Pant. Let’s not forget, he was the most expensive player in the auction two years back. So there will be massive expectations on him. It is clear that he has gone out of favor within the Indian white-ball setup. They are seeing him only as a red-ball player,” said Badrinath on his YouTube channel.

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“If he has to create headlines in white-ball cricket, the upcoming IPL season in huge for Pant. Captaincy has seemingly diminished his free-flowing batting. He has not been very consistent in the last two IPL seasons. He hasn’t delivered much in white-ball cricket. Except that one century at the end, he didn’t do anything last season. It was just a face-saving hundred,” he added.

Speaking about LSG’s chances this season, Badrinath expressed doubts. He suggested the team’s chances could depend on other sides underperforming.

“They aren’t a great side. More than them performing well, they have a chance only if other teams mess it up. But they have great overseas batters and a decent bowling lineup as well,” he said.

Notably, LSG reached the top four in IPL 2022 and 2023. The team missed playoff qualification in the last 2 seasons. The franchise will now aims for a better start in IPL 2026.