Watch: Rishabh Pant, Sanjiv Goenka and LSG teammates visit Ram Mandir in Ayodhya before IPL 2026

While the Indian Premier League 2026 is just a week away from the first ball, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) team members visited Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, including the skipper Rishabh Pant and owner Sanjiv Goenka.

Lucknow Super Giants are among the new IPL teams, and they have proved their competitiveness on the field.

In their first two IPL seasons (2022 and 2023), LSG finished in third position in both the points tables to qualify for the Playoffs. In both seasons, they were eliminated from the Eliminators. However, in the last two seasons (2024 and 2025), they failed to qualify for the Playoffs, while finishing in seventh position in both editions.

Why Lucknow Super Giants visited Ram Mandir before IPL 2026

The entire LSG team visited Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya simply to get blessings before starting their journey in the IPL 2026.

Rishabh Pant’s role and expectations in IPL 2026

Rishabh Pant is set to return to his leadership role for the Lucknow Super Giants for the IPL 2026. Indian cricket fans haven't seen him in international white-ball cricket since August 2024, while he served for the national team last time in November 2025, when India were facing South Africa in a Test match. So, the IPL 2026 can be a good platform for him to knock on the white-ball team door once again.

In the last IPL season (2025), skipper Rishabh Pant scored 269 runs in 13 innings with an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.16, including one century and one half-century.