Lucknow, March 31 -- Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign opener against Delhi Capitals (DC) at Lucknow, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) head coach Justin Langer expressed optimism about captain Rishabh Pant turning a new leaf this season after a poor 2025 IPL with bat and putting his name back in the contention for Team India's white-ball teams.

Pant has been the all-time most expensive player in the IPL with price tag of Rs 27 crore. This season is being seen as make-or-break for the swashbuckling left-hander as he battles competition from KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson, who have outpaced him to become India's first-choice keeper-batter options in ODIs and T20Is respectively.

Speaking during the pre-match presser,...