IPL’s Costliest Player To Be Released After Failure?

IPL witnessed a new piece of history before the 2026 season as Lucknow purchased Rishabh Pant for the costliest deal in the history of the tournament. He was purchased by Lucknow for a massive ₹27 crore deal.

However, Rishabh Pant could not contribute much with the bat nor could he become a successful captain for the Lucknow team in this year torment.

Subsequently, Rishabh Pant was removed from the captaincy position. It was communicated that the player had voluntarily decided to step down from the captaincy position after Lucknow got relegated to 10th position in the tournament this year.

Now the latest development are suggesting that the Lucknow team is considering the idea of releasing Rishabh Pant from the team and reduce the financial burden.

At an annual salary of around ₹27 crore, Rishabh is the costliest player in the history of IPL. But this did not prove to be rewarding for Lucknow as the team ended up finishing in 10th position under his captaincy. Reportedly the team is considering the idea of releasing him and later buy him for a lower price in the auction.

Before the start of the season, the owner of Lucknow, Goenka stated that Rishabh Pant will be the face of the team for many years, and he could be continuing as the captain for more than decade. But that is not even remotely the case now as national media reports are suggesting that he could be released after just one season.