IPL captaincy churn: Rishabh Pant steps down, Hardik Pandya may be on way out

IPL-2026 isn’t over yet, but heads have already begun to roll at franchises that fared disastrously this year. On Friday, Rishabh Pant stepped down as captain of Lucknow Super Giants, which finished at the bottom of the table. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya's tumultuous tenure as Mumbai Indians skipper is set to come to an end after the five-time champs finished second-last.

In fact, the all-rounder wants to leave MI and could be traded to another franchise when the trading window opens, according to a reliable source. Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders are potential destinations for him, though other franchises could also be interested.



LSG had made Pant captain after bidding Rs 27 crore for him, making him the most expensive player in IPL history. On the other hand, MI stirred a controversy when they brought Hardik back to their fold from Gujarat Titans and named him captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, then India’s captain across all three formats.

Unfortunately for both Pant and Pandya, the poor results of the teams coincided with their own indifferent personal form. After two below-par seasons, Pant decided to call it a day. LSG director Tom Moody announced on social media that Pant had requested the franchise to relieve him of captaincy duties.

“Rishabh approached the franchisee with this request and we have respectfully accepted it,” Moody was quoted as saying in the media release. “These decisions are never easy. We are grateful for everything Rishabh has brought to this dressing room as captain. Our focus now is on collective rebuilding and restructuring to reach the best standards,” the statement added.

TOI understands that Pant wants to focus on cricket with a crucial international season coming up. He was also recently removed as Test vicecaptain, besides being dropped from the ODI side after spending two years on the bench with Team India.

“Pant wants to have a clear head going forward. He has staged many strong comebacks in his career. At the moment, his focus is to be the best cricketer that he can be and help his team win. A good international season can help his confidence going into the next IPL. He had bounced back from a poor IPL last year and had a stellar Test series in England. The LSG management believes if he can regain that momentum, that may help him going forward,” sources close to the development told TOI . “It’s better for both the franchise and Pant to take some time out and calm down before planning for the next season,” sources added.

A formal announcement of Hardik's exit as MI captain may also not be too long in coming. “Yes, Hardik is done with MI and is exiting the franchise. He has had enough. He could either go to Delhi Capitals, who could trade their captain and India leftarm spinner Axar Patel for him, or he could be traded to KKR against Cameron Green or Varun Chakravarthy or Rinku Singh. However, don't rule out some other franchise being interested in him," a source told TOI on Friday.

Another source revealed that "During a mid-season review, a senior player suggested that India's young batter Tilak Varma, who has been with MI for a few years now, is the ideal person to be appointed captain next year. However, India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who made his IPL captaincy debut for MI this season in one game, are also MI captaincy candidates. The management is also likely to phase out a senior batter and give him a ‘different’ role. Basically, MI need a reset, and that refresh button needs to be pressed as soon as possible," the source told TOI .

While both Surya and Bumrah could be strong candidates, Surya's prolonged lean patch and the need to manage Bumrah's workload would have to be considered before a final call.

The buzz is that Pandya and Pant may not be the only two IPL captains who could end up losing their crowns. Some other captains may also face tough questions from disappointed managements.


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