Sanjiv Goenka had anticipated "Mahi, Rohit, Rishabh" as the legacy of his Rs 27 crore star during the IPL 2025 auction. a spot with the most accomplished captains of the IPL. a spot next to two of the best white-ball players in India. Everyone agreed that Rishabh Pant would be the most costly purchase when it was announced that he would be a part of the mega auction. After all, he was the face of brave cricket and India's starting wicketkeeper in a T20 World Cup victory.
However, Rishabh Pant's Lucknow Super Giants initiative appears to be collapsing after barely 1.5 years. To the point that it is now possible that his white-ball career will finish too soon.

The Devastating Truth
After playing 21 games for LSG, Rishabh Pant's average is only 20.8. That average falls to 15.7 after his brilliant innings of 118* in a meaningless league match in IPL 2025 are subtracted.
For any elite batsman, let alone one of the most gifted of his generation, these statistics are perplexing. This is particularly true for someone whose flamboyant batting is the reason he is already regarded by many as his country's greatest-ever Test wicket-keeper batter.However, Rishabh Pant's experience in white-ball cricket has had a significant impact on his Test career. He hasn't participated in an ODI since August 2024 or a T20I since July 2024. He was left out of Ajit Agarkar's plans for the T20 World Cup 2026 team, and it's possible that he won't even be considered by the selectors when the 15-man Cricket World Cup 2027 squad is chosen.
Intense Competition
For white-ball cricket, the abundance of wicket-keeper batters in India is especially astounding. For now, KL Rahul and Sanju Samson are guaranteed spots in ODIs and T20Is, respectively.Ishan Kishan may be considered a contender for ODIs once more after regaining his form and forcing himself into the starting lineup in Twenty20 Internationals.
While waiting on the wings, Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel continue to make an impression in both the IPL and domestic cricket. While 25-year-old Jurel is rapidly developing his abilities across a range of batting positions, Jitesh was unfortunate to be left out of India's T20 World Cup 2026 roster.
Rishabh Pant is arguably already behind five wicket-keepers in white-ball cricket, especially in Twenty20 Internationals, even without considering the unrealised potential of players like Kartik Sharma or Mukul Choudhary.

Furthermore, it is difficult to argue that the BCCI selection committee, lead by Ajit Agarkar, is making a mistake given his recent batting form.
The Failure of LSG
There could not have been a worse outcome for Pant's endeavour at the Lucknow Super Giants. He has been given the captaincy of a team that contains two T20I captains, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, but he hasn't performed well.
Under Pant's direction, LSG has only won eight of twenty-one games. As of this writing, the team is one spot higher than the wooden slot in the IPL 2026 points table.In addition, he has hitting difficulties. When batting for LSG, Pant seems to lack confidence much too frequently, and his unconventional and free-flowing shot-making in Test cricket is frequently lacking in the IPL.
It is difficult to determine if he is suffering from the demands of captaincy and price tag or has failed to advance as a white-ball batter, but it is simple to draw the conclusion that his declining white-ball career has closely correlated with his issues at LSG.
As of right now, it is quite unlikely that Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Rohit Sharma will leave a lasting legacy for India in white-ball cricket and the IPL.