Rishabh Pant had a bit of a false start last season as the Lucknow Super Giants’ captain and main man. Pant ended the season with a century that pretty much encapsulated the best facets of his sheer batting talent but despite that 61-ball 118, he ended the season with a season’s tally of just 269 runs in 13 innings. He will be looking to make amends this year while trying to regain his spot in the Indian limited overs sides and he has a couple of international captains to bank in the LSG squad, one of whom is Australia’s Mitchell Marsh.
“It’s just about contributing as best you can, being the best support possible for Rishabh. He’s a great young guy who leads his team really well. He’s always open to feedback, suggestions, and takes on board whatever you say,” Marsh told PTI in an interview.
“We’ve got some really good leaders within the group, which you need. And for me, it’s about contributing where needed.”
Marsh said that he finds it easy to work with Aiden Markram, the other important international captain in the LSG squad under whom South Africa made it to the final and semifinal of the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cups respectively.
Marsh scored 627 runs and Markram contributing 445 runs in IPL 2025. “I absolutely loved my time last year with Aiden. We’ve obviously played against each other a lot in the past. And it’s not until you’re in the same team that you get to know someone.
“And obviously, when you go in together, you need to have a strong relationship both on the field and off the field. Last year showed that we became good friends off the field and were able to be a consistent partnership for this franchise.”
Lucknow Super Giants start the 2026 season with a match against the Delhi Capitals at home at the Ekana Stadium on April 1. Marsh recalled last season’s batting-friendly surfaces at the Ekana Stadium.
“Yeah, I actually thought the wicket last year was beautiful. We had multiple 200 scores here. And it was nice to be able to, I guess, play seven games at home and understand the conditions. It’s obviously a bigger ground than quite a few in India, which is probably why there’s a few lower scores. But the ground and the wicket itself last year was fantastic and I expect it to be the same this year,” Marsh concluded.
