The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have finalized their squad for the IPL 2026 season, as apart from the other teams, they have also handed over their list of retained and released players on November 15. With the IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi on December 16, LSG’s selections have stirred up excitement.
A captaincy issue was among the greatest discussions after the Lucknow Super Giants were disappointed by their IPL 2025 performance. The retaining of Australia’s T20I captain Mitchell Marsh also added to the speculation that the team might make him the leader role, mainly because of his superior captaincy in the format of quite a high level.
LSG announces Rishabh Pant as the captain for IPL 2026
But LSG clearly said the message with their retention announcement that they have no intentions of rumors. The team declared that Rishabh Pant will be the captain for the IPL 2026, thus indicating that the management will remain the same in terms of the leadership.
Sharing a picture of Pant on X, the LSG wrote in the caption: “With great power. With great responsibility. Leading the Super Giants.💙
Lucknow Super Giants’ IPL 2025 saga
On the other hand, the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2025 started off with huge hopes as they had to spend a record INR 27 crores on Rishabh Pant, thus making him the most expensive player in the history of the league. However, nothing for them went as planned, and LSG occupied the seventh position in the point table winning only six out of the fourteen matches.
Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, and Mitchell Marsh were among the talent in their squad but still the team could not manage to have a good run. Some young players like Ayush Badoni and Digvesh Rathi gained experience and impressed all with their performance but could not do it as a team.
Pant came in like a lion but had a hard time getting into the picture. He produced some great innings, but couldn’t pull off game-winning performances that the audience and the team were looking for, especially taking into account his high price tag.
The pace bowling department of LSG continued to be a big issue. The pacers were often inconsistent, and on top of that the injuries were a major concern throughout the season. The team was affected by these issues during the crucial matches and hence they could not qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs.
Now, they have to fill only six spots at the IPL 2026 auctions and they are looking to snatch the players who have the ability to change the game and thus make a strong comeback.
Players retained by Lucknow Super Giants ahead of IPL 2026:
Rishabh Pant (C), Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Mitchell Marsh, Mohsin Khan, M Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Akash Singh
players released by Lucknow Super Giants ahead of IPL 2026
Ravi Bishnoi, David Miller, Akash Deep, Aryan Juyal, Yuvraj Chaudhary, and Rajvardhan Hangargekar
Transfers of Players:
Mumbai Indians made a deal to get Shardul Thakur (Rs 2 crore) while he was moved to them. Besides that, from Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mohammad Shami (Rs 10 crore) and from Mumbai Indians, Arjun Tendulkar (Rs 30 lakh) were brought in.
