Rishabh Pant steps down as Lucknow captain after rock-bottom finish in IPL

[p]Wicketkeeper-batter [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pant-rishabh/KKYC7ObS/"]Pant[/a], ‌who was picked up by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lucknow-super-giants/juEriKhI/"]‌Lucknow[/a] for a tournament-record $3.21 million in the player auction before ‌the 2025 season, was ⁠appointed ‌team captain in January.[/p][p]But the India ​international struggled with inconsistent form as he oversaw ​a dismal campaign in which Lucknow won four of their ⁠14 matches, ​missing out on the IPL playoffs for the third time in a row.[/p][p]Pant approached the ‌franchise to be relieved of his captaincy duties and the team management have accepted the 28-year-old's request, Lucknow said in a statement.[/p][embed guid="c4ffe772-0863-4998-baf1-b1d31d5ea6fa" url="https://x.com/LucknowIPL/status/2060322784715342265" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"These decisions are never easy. We are grateful for everything Rishabh has ‌brought to this dressing ​room as captain,"[/b] said Tom ‌Moody, the franchise's director of cricket.[/p][p][b]"Our focus now is on the collective, rebuilding and restructuring to reach the ⁠best standards."[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/ipl/"]Follow the IPL finals with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]