‘Rishabh Pant is doing worse than me'; LSG captain told to sit out of remaining IPL 2025 games amid franchise's poor run
Rishabh Pant should take a break and not play in Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) remaining two games in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) after the franchise was officially eliminated from the race for playoffs following their six-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday, felt former India cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
With just five wins from 12 games so far, LSG's IPL 2025 campaign turned out to be the one they hadn't expected, which was ravaged by injuries, especially to their top-class pace attack that included the likes of Mayank Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan.
Pant, who was released by Delhi Capitals, was bought for a whopping ₹ 27 crore, also had a season to forget. Leading the side, the southpaw managed just 135 runs in the 12 matches so far, with just one fifty-plus score that came against Chennai Super Kings.
Having no fixed batting position, Pant struggled to get runs with only three double digit scores. Srikkanth felt that Pant is messing things up on the field, be it his captaincy or his shot-making.
'Unfortunately things are not going Rishabh Pant's way,' Srikkanth said. 'Even when captaining… be it bowling changes or field placements, he seems to be messing up in some form or the other. Things are not going his way," Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka.
"Even with the bat, he can just play freely and be bold, but he seems to be playing half-hearted shots with no clarity. Every game he is finding new ways to get dismissed. During my playing days I use to invent ways to get dismissed and Pant is doing worse than me.
"30 years back I was like that, today he is finding new ways to get out — reverse-sweep, reverse-paddle, swinging wildly — all of it is happening,' added the former chairman of selectors.
With just two matches against Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru left, Srikkanth urged LSG to get their bowling combination correct for next season and leave Pant alone.
'I just want him to be left alone…they should say enough, just go and spend some time away. The season is over. Whatever they are planning for the next season — they have change the core and bring in bowlers — they don't have any bowlers in this team,' Srikkanth added.
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