Mitchell Marsh Ruled Out Of LSG vs PBKS Clash, Rishabh Pant Likely To Open

Lucknow Super Giants have received a big setback before their final IPL 2026 match. The team will miss Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh in the game against Punjab Kings. Marsh, who opened the batting for LSG throughout the season, is reportedly unavailable for the match. Earlier, Aiden Markram had also left for South Africa due to personal reasons and missed LSG’s previous game against Rajasthan Royals.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Mitchell Marsh is unavailable for Lucknow Super Giants’ final IPL 2026 match against Punjab Kings. The franchise has not yet revealed the reason behind his sudden departure. Marsh has been LSG’s top performer this season, scoring 563 runs in 13 matches. It is pertinent to point out that LSG have already been knocked out of the tournament with just 4 wins from 13 matches, and are languishing at the bottom of the points table. Marsh has been LSG’s leading run-getter in IPL 2026, having amassed 563 runs from 13 matches at an average of 43.30 and a strike rate of 163.18.

LSG forced to reshuffle opening pair after Mitchell Marsh’s sudden exit

With Markram and Breetzke unavailable as well, LSG will have to find a new opener for their fixture against PBKS. The possible options include captain Rishabh Pant, Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran. Pant has opened in just 6 IPL matches to date, and has scored 132 runs. His highest score as an opener has been 69 runs. However, he emerges as the frontrunner to replace Marsh at the top of the order.

The last time Mitchell Marsh opened the innings for Lucknow Super Giants was against Delhi Capitals on April 1, 2026. In that match, he scored 35 runs off 28 balls before getting dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav. Before that, Marsh had scored 21 runs off 18 balls against Gujarat Titans in Lucknow during IPL 2025.

Badoni, who is another option that LSG could consider, has played just 3 matches as an opener, where he has fetched poor results, having scored just 39 runs. He last essayed the role of an opener in the game against the Rajasthan Royals, in which he was dismissed for a duck, while he scored 35 runs in the game against the Punjab Kings on April 19. Meanwhile, Pooran has never opened the innings for any side in the IPL.