The Indian Premier League midseason table is heating up, with the Punjab Kings sitting at the top on an unbeaten streak rarely seen before. Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants, led by Rishabh Pant, are struggling this season at the bottom of the table amid a misfiring batting lineup. To make things even worse, LSG have now suffered their 5th consecutive defeat of the season, with their latest coming on a Sunday night, April 27th, against an underwhelming Kolkata Knight Riders side, whom they had beaten earlier in the campaign by 3 wickets. A Super-Over defeat, following their failure to chase a comparatively small target of 156 in the modern T20 game, sums up their season so far, with the batting unit unable to complement the efforts of their bowling attack.
The Pant-led side has faced a challenging start to his captaincy tenure after being acquired for a record-breaking INR 27 crore ahead of the 2025 season, replacing then-captain KL Rahul in a bid to end the franchise’s trophy drought. However, 8 consecutive defeats in front of home fans at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow have added to the woes, with a growing social media movement calling for a change in leadership.
Former India batter Wasim Jaffer opined that Aiden Markram, a proven captain in the T20I setup with South Africa, should replace Pant, who is currently in the hot seat. Jaffer, who is regarded as one of the finest batters in the domestic circuit, also suggested how the LSG batting unit should lineup amid intense scrutiny, backing the successful opening pair from last season, Markram and Mitchell Marsh, to lead the top order without further variations.
“LSG looks completely out of place right now; it’s hard even to know what to expect from them. If I were in that dugout, the first thing I would do is make Aiden Markram the captain. I would open with Markram and Mitchell Marsh. At number three, Nicholas Pooran, then Rishabh Pant at four, and Ayush Badoni at five. At number six, Abdul Samad, and at seven, Mukul Choudhary. That would be my top seven, and I would go with this batting order,” Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.
Why Markram is the ideal choice?
Jaffer further highlighted that Pant’s ability with the bat, when given a free hand to perform without added pressure and responsibilities, is evident in his past numbers. Pant, who scored 42 against KKR, was unable to lead his team over the line in what has been a lacklustre campaign so far, just 189 runs in 8 matches, averaging below-par 27 and striking at roughly 127.
Known for his explosive batting in the middle order, his pre-captaincy batting peak came in 2018 when he amassed 684 runs at a blistering strike rate of approximately 174 for the then Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals).
“I feel a player like Rishabh Pant should play purely as a player. You get the best out of him when you free him up and tell him to just go out and play and win matches on his own. Don’t burden him with captaincy. I think Aiden Markram is a better captain. He has led South Africa very successfully; he is mentally strong, very composed, and I think he can get the best out of the other players. But this doesn’t look like something that will actually happen. This is just my suggestion, but if I were there, that’s what I would do,” added Jaffer.
With only 2 wins in their first 8 matches of this campaign, LSG need something inspirational, even if it means handing the captaincy to a proven leader like Markram, as Jaffer suggested, to turn their fortunes around. Otherwise, it could prove to be a disastrous campaign as they next face the Mumbai Indians.