🏆 PLAY DREAM11 IPL 2026 — GET ₹100 BONUS
Lucknow Super Giants entered the IPL in 2022 and made the playoffs in their very first season. Since then, consistency has been their hallmark — but the title has remained elusive. In 2026, everything has changed. LSG made the most audacious statement in IPL auction history, spending a record-shattering ₹27 crore on Rishabh Pant — making him the most expensive player in IPL history. A single contract that exceeds the entire team salary cap of the Pakistan Super League. The pressure on Pant — who also captains the side — is immense. But if he delivers, LSG have the talent around him to compete for the title.
💰 LSG stats: 0 IPL titles. Brand value: $122 million. Home: BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. Owners: RPSG Group (Sanjiv Goenka). Net worth: ~₹1,054 Cr. Franchise fee paid in 2022: ₹7,090 crore.
FULL LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS SQUAD 2026
LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS — FULL SQUAD 2026
| Player | Role | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Rishabh Pant (c/wk) | WK-Batter | India (₹27 Cr) |
| KL Rahul | WK-Batter | India (at DC) |
| Nicholas Pooran (wk) | WK-Batter | West Indies |
| Ayush Badoni | Batter | India |
| Krunal Pandya | All-rounder | India (at RCB) |
| David Miller | Batter | South Africa (at DC) |
| Ravi Bishnoi | Leg Spinner | India |
| Mohsin Khan | Fast Bowler | India |
| Shardul Thakur | Fast Bowler | India (at MI) |
| Arshin Kulkarni | All-rounder | India (Uncapped) |
| Shahbaz Ahmed | All-rounder | India |
| Digvesh Rathi | Leg Spinner | India (Uncapped) |
| Mitchell Marsh | All-rounder | Australia |
| Matt Breetzke | Batter | South Africa |
| Himmat Singh | Batter | India |
| Akash Singh | Fast Bowler | India |
| Yuvraj Chaudhary | Fast Bowler | India |
| Abdul Samad | Batter | India |
THE ₹27 CRORE QUESTION
The numbers around Rishabh Pant's move to LSG are staggering. ₹27 crore ($3.26 million) for a single player in a single season. This is not just an IPL record — it's one of the highest per-season contracts for any cricketer in the history of franchise cricket globally. Pant's value is undeniable: an explosive left-handed batter, an elite wicketkeeper, a natural leader, and a player whose comeback from a near-fatal accident in 2022 is one of sport's greatest stories. The question is whether the weight of expectation and a completely rebuilt squad around him can produce a first IPL title for LSG.
Mitchell Marsh is the key overseas signing — an outstanding all-rounder who can open the batting at high strike rate and contribute useful medium-pace overs. Ravi Bishnoi's leg-spin gives them a proven wicket-taker, and Nicholas Pooran's explosive batting in the lower order adds serious punch.
"Fast bowlers' form and fitness continue to be LSG's main worry. Their IPL 2025 had fizzled out after a positive start — they will want to avoid a repeat of that in their chase of a first title."
— ESPNcricinfo IPL 2026 Preview, March 2026OUR VERDICT
LSG are our 10th-ranked squad — the riskiest bet in IPL 2026. Everything rides on Rishabh Pant. If he's fit, firing, and in the form he showed before his accident, LSG are a top-4 team. If he struggles for form or gets injured, the squad has a significant gap at the top. Their bowling remains their biggest concern — ESPNcricinfo flagged this specifically — and without a world-class pace spearhead, they will concede big totals on flat Lucknow decks. High risk. High reward. Pant's IPL 2026 story is one of the season's great narratives. 🟦
