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In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) team is at the last position in the points table. LSG has been able to win only 2 out of 8 matches. It has faced defeat in the last 5 matches and is on the verge of being out of the race for the playoffs. Team captain Rishabh Pant is flopping for the second consecutive season. He has been able to score only 189 runs in 8 innings in the current season. During this period his strike rate has been only 126.84.

Pant was bought by LSG for Rs 27 crore in the mega auction held before the last IPL but his performance since joining the franchise has been average. Under Pant’s captaincy, LSG finished seventh in IPL 2025. Last season, Pant scored 269 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 127.50. Now questions are being raised on his huge price as he has struggled in the current season but LSG bowling coach Bharat Arun believes that he is just one innings away from being in his best form.

‘Price has nothing to do with it’

When asked about Pant’s struggles in the last two years, Bharat Arun said, ‘I don’t think the price has anything to do with it.’ He said, ‘If you look at his batting carefully, especially our second match, he made us win.’

Bharat Arun told reporters before LSG’s practice session at Wankhede Stadium, ‘I am not too worried about his form. It’s just a matter of one innings, he can come back to his form.

Every match of LSG is knockout

Former Indian team bowling coach Bharat Arun said that all the remaining matches in the league stage of IPL will be knockout matches for LSG. He said, ‘A ray of hope is visible. We have no other option now. Every match from here is a knockout for us.

He further said, ‘I don’t think there will be any benefit in analyzing the data too much. The most important thing is how we perform and how we focus on the things we believe in.