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Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer has fully supported skipper Rishabh Pant following yet another torrid outing in IPL 2026. LSG slumped to their ninth defeat of the season against Mumbai Indians.

They are currently languishing at the bottom of the table with only two wins from nine matches. Pant's current form along with his recent decision-making as captain came under heavy criticism following this loss. Langer has asserted that the team still trusts their leader and he is just a short innings away from finding form.

Addressing the media after the match Langer revealed that Pant was in tremendous touch during practice. The coach recounted one practice match they played two days ago which saw the coaching staff awestruck.

Langer said:

"Two days ago, we had a practice game here and Rishi.. (hit) maybe 95 off 30-40 balls and you just sit back and think my gosh this is a good Rishabh Pant He's a really good player we know that. We've seen him destroy teams batting at 5 in test matches and we just thought today.. It was a good option for the team."

Pant's move down the order for this fixture was also scrutinized but Langer insisted it was a move made with the team in mind.

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Langer stated:

"He gave the team priority and shifted down the order for Nicky P who's batting was sensational referring to the explosive cameo of Nicholas Pooran who slammed a quick fire 63 off 21 deliveries.  As captain in the IPL.. You have to keep fronting up and that's all you can do, you just keep fronting up and hope to get us wins"

Langer has also refuted the idea that Pant's hefty price tag is the reason behind his current slump.

Langer continued:

"Honestly I don't think money is any part of it... It's a tough job leading an IPL team and he knows it He's working hard and he's not far off."

Pant himself agreed that LSG did not make the most of the quick start provided by the batter. Pant did not blame the bowlers and rather took responsibility on himself saying it needs to be executed well with a bit of luck. 

Pant Admitted:

"The way we started definitely we could have gotten more runs. We were 10-15 runs short of what should have been a 220-230 wicket I think we need a bit of luck coming our way.. It would need more effort from us for sure."

With playoff hopes hanging by a thread, it remains to be seen if captain Pant can help the LSG team reach the playoffs.