End of Rishabh Pant as Opener? LSG's New Opening Pair vs SRH

Pranvit Singh Dang

Modified - Apr 05, 2026, 12:32 PM

3 min

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The 10th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been played between Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. The toss was won by the LSG skipper Rishabh Pant, where chose to bowl first and putting everyone in doubt of his decision of putting SRH into batting on flat pitch.

However, this was not the only unexpected thing to be observed by the LSG skipper as there are new LSG openers 2026 for the match against SRH after Rishabh Pant opening in IPL was seen during the LSG's first match of the season.

Why Rishabh Pant is Not Opening Today?

Rishabh Pant, one of the best wicket keepers in IPL, was not seen as an opener in the LSG's second match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The reason is not disclosed by the team management or the skipper but is likely that he was experimenting something different in the first match which may didn't feel right now to him. However, the primary reason behind Rishabh Pant is not opening today could be to have a fixed batting position in rest of the season in the middle-order, like he always do.

Moreover, during the toss of the match, the presenter even asked him about whether he will be opening in this match or not, to which he replied, “We'll see in the match”. This showed that it was almost clear that he was unlikely to opening in this match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The role of LSG openers 2026 has been taken by Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, who were also opening for the LSG in the last season.

Rishabh Pant New Batting Position in IPL 2026

The LSG skipper has changed his batting position in IPL to number three from the opening slot in the second match of the tournament. In the past, Pant has batted at the number three in some of the matches where he has a good record, scoring over 500+ runs with an average of 45.00+ and even includes one century at this batting position. Rishabh Pant New Batting Position in IPL 2026 has seen the change from number 4 or 5 to top-order batter, where it is expected that he will do good for the team with his batting.