Rishabh Pant and Ayush Badoni gave Lucknow Super Giants fans an easy, revealing pre-season moment ahead of IPL 2026, with a camp video showing the LSG captain handing one of his bats to the younger batter and saying, “Short-handle hai, tujhe pasand hai waisa. Todiyo mat yeh, bhot acha bat hai.” It was delivered in jest, but the exchange offered a small insight into the equation between two important Indian players in a squad that will again enter the season with expectations.
Rishabh Pant is the biggest figure in this LSG setup. He is the franchise captain for IPL 2026 and remains one of the most recognisable Indian players in the tournament, both for his wicketkeeping and his ability to shift a game with the bat. Badoni, meanwhile, has grown from an exciting youngster into a genuine middle-order option for Lucknow. The two players would hope to contribute heavily in a season that LSG hopes would bring them their maiden IPL title.
That is why the clip carries interest beyond simple social-media engagement. Ayush Badoni is not just a fringe squad member receiving a senior’s bat for the cameras. He has built a role for himself at Lucknow and also moved closer to the national conversation after receiving a maiden India ODI call-up earlier this year as Washington Sundar’s replacement for the second and third ODIs against New Zealand. For a player in that stage of his career, a gesture like this lands as both a friendly dressing-room moment and a sign of standing within the group.
Lucknow head into IPL 2026 with plenty to sort out and enough talent to matter. Pant will naturally be central to how the side is judged, but Badoni’s role also remains significant because he helps hold together the Indian core around the bigger names. Before the start of a season, such moments can still say something about the mood of a squad. In this case, LSG got exactly what franchises want from pre-season content: a relaxed captain, a rising Indian batter, and a snapshot of team chemistry before the real scrutiny begins.
With Lucknow set to open their IPL 2026 campaign against Delhi Capitals, the Pant-Badoni exchange has worked as a neat early reminder of the season’s wider subplot. Pant will carry the spotlight, Badoni will look to keep pushing upward, and LSG will hope the good humour seen in camp is followed by the kind of consistency they have often threatened, but not always sustained, on the field.
