Rishabh Pant’s disastrous Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season hit another painful low on May 20 as Lucknow Super Giants crashed to yet another defeat, this time at the hands of Rajasthan Royals and a 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. However, the LSG captain still refused to stop backing his struggling side.
Moments after LSG’s crushing loss to Rajasthan Royals, Pant dropped the F-bomb live on television while passionately insisting that his team was still “a f***ing good team”. Speaking at the post-match presentation after another painful night for LSG, Pant tried to defend the dressing room despite the growing criticism around the team.
IPL 2026, RR vs LSG: Highlights | Scorecard
Watch the video here:
“Like I said, we are proud as a team regardless of what our situation is right now,” Pant said.
“The kind of team we have, we know we can win this. Regardless of anything, we are confident enough as a team and as individuals. It hasn’t gone our way and everyone knows that,” Pant said.
“But that doesn’t take away the fact that we are a f***ing good team,” he added.
The defeat in Jaipur officially left Lucknow at the bottom of the IPL 2026 table with just eight points from 13 matches, capping off a season that has spiralled badly for Pant and coach Justin Langer. And the timing only made things harsher. Earlier in the day, Pant had already lost India’s Test vice-captaincy and was also dropped entirely from the ODI squad for the Afghanistan series.
Pant’s own IPL 2026 campaign has reflected the chaos that LSG are now in.
The wicketkeeper-batter has scored 286 runs in 13 matches at an average of 28.60, but his batting rhythm, captaincy calls and overall body language have constantly remained under scrutiny. Even against Rajasthan, his 35 never really looked fully convincing despite Marsh doing most of the damage from the other end.
HOW VAIBHAV SOORYAVANSHI AND RR RAN THROUGH LSG AGAIN
For a while, Lucknow genuinely looked set to finally end the season with a statement performance.
Mitchell Marsh smashed a brutal 96 off 57 balls while Josh Inglis hammered a 29-ball 60 as LSG powered their way to 220 for five in Jaipur.
But Rajasthan Royals never really allowed that total to settle into scoreboard pressure.
Yashasvi Jaiswal came out swinging after his own ODI squad snub earlier in the day, smashing Akash Singh for 23 runs in the very first over of the chase. Once Jaiswal fell for 43, the game quickly became another Vaibhav Sooryavanshi show.
The 15-year-old sensation smashed 93 off just 38 balls and completely broke LSG’s bowling attack. His innings pushed him to the top of the Orange Cap standings and once again showed why he has become one of the biggest stories of IPL 2026.
Dhruv Jurel calmly finished things off with an unbeaten half-century as Rajasthan chased down 221 with five balls remaining to stay alive in the playoff race.
For LSG, though, the defeat summed up their entire season.
Huge totals have not been enough. Individual brilliance has repeatedly gone wasted. And every time it felt like Lucknow might finally steady themselves, another collapse arrived.
They now head into their final game against Punjab Kings with nothing left except pride and the chance to avoid finishing the season at rock bottom.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Player Stats | Purple Cap | Orange Cap | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– Ends
