New Delhi: Head Coach of Lucknow Supergiants Justin Lange Full support to the captain Ritha Pant Despite yet another disappointment in IPL 2026, he insists the wicketkeeper-batsman is “not far off” from rediscovering his best form.LSG suffered another disastrous defeat against mumbai indians On Monday, they had just two wins from nine games and were bottom of the table. Much of the focus has been on Pant’s form and his decision to change the batting order, but Langer provided strong defense on both fronts.Langer revealed Pant’s recent behind-the-scenes form, highlighting a stunning training performance that has convinced the team management that he is ready.“We played a practice match here two days ago and Rishi… scored 95 off maybe 40 or 30 balls – you just look at it and you say, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s Rishabh Pant at his best,'” Langer said.“So, he’s a very good player; we know that. We’ve seen him destroy fifth-placed teams in Test cricket and today we felt… this could be a good option for the team.”Team’s ‘selfless’ movePant’s decision to push himself down the order allowed Nicholas Pullan Hitting the ball higher raised eyebrows – but Langer described it as a selfless decision made purely for the good of the team.“He unselfishly moved down the order and got Nikki P to bat and his knock was unbelievable,” Langer explained, referring to Pooran’s explosive 63 off 21 balls.Langer backed the captain’s leadership, adding: “As a captain in the IPL… you have to keep moving forward. That’s all you can do and he will keep moving forward and hopefully help us get some wins.”The coach also dismissed suggestions that Pant’s record price tag affected his performance.“Honestly, I don’t think money has anything to do with it… Leadership is a tough position, you’re under a lot of pressure and he knows that,” he said. “He’s working hard … and he’s not far off.”Pant admits LSG fell shortPant himself admitted that LSG left a points deficit at the top of the table after a strong start.“Of course, the way we started, I thought we should have scored more runs… We were 10-15 runs short because it was a 220-230 wicket,” he said.While Pant refused to blame the bowlers, he admitted that the team needed a bit of luck to turn things around. “I think we need some good luck … and certainly it’s going to take a little more effort on our part.”With their playoff hopes slim, LSG will now be hoping that Pant’s stellar training can quickly translate into match-winning performances.
