This IPL 2026 is important for Rishabh Pant in two contexts. After becoming the most expensive player in the history of the tournament, and getting the captaincy of LSG, he is yet to set the stage of fire. And (B), with a sound performance, he needs to get back into the white-ball scheme of things, as far as Team India is concerned.
Rishabh Pant’s poor IPL 2025 season
If last season was the reference point, he didn’t quite deliver to his max. Batting at no. 4 for most season, he ended up scoring only 269 runs at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 133. The team also finished seventh, winning only 6 games. Of course, a comeback in T20Is or ODIs was ruled out after that show.
But all that can change too quickly for an already established player like Rishabh Pant. After all, if Ishan Kishan can make a comeback into the team after a long time, why not the other southpaw batter. Maybe, it all will start with a correct batting position for Pant. Yes. he did make an amend of sorts by coming at no. 3 in 2025, but it was a little too late by then.
Where should Pant bat in IPL 2026?
So, where should Pant bat in IPL 2026? Well, there is a report that suggests, he will come in at no. 3, after the opening pair of Aiden Markram & Mitchell Marsh… “It is clear to the team management as well as Pant that his game is best suited for number three. This season the top-order is locked in with Aiden, Marsh and Pant. The middle-order is flexible and players will be floated as per the game situation,” an IPL source told PTI.
But then, if that is the case, one needs to evaluate his performances in all positions. For starters, he has batted in IPL from 1-8. While opening, in 5 innings he has scored 125 runs with a highest of 69. Whereas no, 3 is where he has the best numbers. In 15 innings he has 558 runs to his name, at an average of 46.5 at a strike rate of 173. That includes two fifties and a ton as well.
Then comes no. 4, the position where he has batted the most. In 66 innings, 2011 runs have come his way, but average drops to 34 and strike-rate to 143. 10 fifties and a ton have come at this number. And then, at no. 5, in 31 innings he has scored 803 runs at a strike rate of 150. 6 fifties have come here too. All other positions are too insignificant.
The stats above clearly tell us, the more deliveries Pant faces, the more lethal he gets. It is a no-brainer for the team then, and for the batter personally, to take the charge at no. 3.
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Where does Rishabh Pant fit into Lucknow Super Giants Playing XI for IPL 2026?
