Lucknow Super Giants bowling coach Bharat Arun confirmed that skipper Rishabh Pant was ‘absolutely fit’ to play his team’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match against Punjab Kings in New Chandigarh on Sunday.

Pant had retired hurt against Royal Challengers Bengaluru when he was batting on 0 off four balls. He was hit on the elbow by a Josh Hazlewood delivery just two balls into his innings.

Though he returned to bat in the 17th over, after LSG lost a flurry of wickets, he walked back to the dugout soon after, after being dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 1 off six balls. LSG was bowled out for 146, and RCB overhauled the paltry target in 15.1 overs with five wickets in hand.

Pant has endured another tough IPL season this year, amassing just 104 runs in five innings at a sedate strike rate of 122.35. His only fifty this season was an unbeaten 68 that took LSG over the line against Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets.

The 28-year-old, who is the league’s most expensive signing ever at Rs. 27 crore, also had an underwhelming IPL 2025, scoring just 269 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 133.16, though he ended the tournament with a century in a losing cause, against RCB.

The Super Giants finished IPL 2025 seventh on the standings, with six wins from 14 games, and have made yet another slow start this season, losing three of their first five.

Published on Apr 18, 2026