Former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn slammed Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant and Mumbai Indians’ captain Hardik Pandya for their mundane show in IPL 2026. Steyn reckons both the captains were trying to hide the pressure with a smile.
While LSG ended their campaign as the cellar-dwellers with only four wins in 14 games, MI ended their season in the ninth place in the standings with same number of wins as LSG.
Pant could only manage 312 runs in 13 innings at an average of 28.36 and a strike rate of 138.05 in IPL 2026 and thus could not lead from the front.
Pant had accumulated 269 runs in 13 innings in the previous season at an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.16.
On the other hand, Pandya scored 206 runs in 10 matches at an average of 22.89 and a strike rate of 138.25. Furthermore, he could only pick four wickets in 10 games at a high economy rate of 11.42.
Dale Steyn said on AB de Villiers’ YouTube Channel, “I look at two captains in this IPL that did exactly the same thing that are trying to hide the pressure with a smile. Pant’s one and Hardik was the other. They are trying to hide that pressure doesn’t bother them, that whatever is happening in the game, it doesn’t matter. We will come back, you know. We’ve got great players and not once did they look like they were angry or upset, but that smile actually hides that. They actually fuming.
“They are professional. They want to win. They want their teams to do well. And good captains show frustration. Good captains will show that I’m angry, I’m pissed off, and we’re going to get better at this. You know what I mean? Bad captains tend to hide behind a fake smile. And at the end of the season they will still have a smile on their face and they’ll say, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll address it and we’ll come back.’ You can’t just keep saying that,” he added.
Steyn reckons LSG should announce a new captain for IPL 2027 as Pant hasn’t been able to do a good job as a leader.
He concluded, “They’re going to have to look at a change of leadership in that role over there. They need somebody who’s going to take the dressing room by the scruff of the neck, not with a smile on his face, and say, ‘Guys, this is serious business right now. There’s a lot to play for in terms of the IPL. They are paying you a lot of money. This is a massive tournament. It’s not a tournament where you can just come and sit here and laugh about it and finish Wooden Spoon. That’s not good enough.’”
LSG has won 10 and lost 18 games under Pant’s leadership in the IPL.
