The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) should rest captain Rishabh Pant in their final two games in the current Indian Premier League (IPL), according to former India opener Kris Srikkanth. After being acquired by LSG at the super auction last year for INR 27 crore, the wicketkeeper-batter has failed to live up to his potential.
At the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday, May 19, Lucknow was defeated by Sunrisers Hyderabad after failing to defend a goal of 206 runs. With six wickets remaining in 18.2 overs, SRH easily defeated the home team. LSG was eliminated from the playoff race, becoming the fifth team to do so. In this match, Pant only managed seven runs before being dismissed by Eshan Malinga.
The 27-year-old has only amassed 135 runs with a strike rate of 100 and an average of 12.27 in 12 games. According to Srikkanth, Pant ought to take a break from the game for a while. After their chances of making it to the IPL 2025 playoffs were dashed, he pointed out that LSG would need to bring in new bowlers for the upcoming season.
“I simply want him to be left alone; they ought to say enough and leave him alone for a while.” The season is over. Srikkanth stated, “They don’t have any bowlers in this team, so they need to change the core and bring in bowlers for the upcoming season.”
Even when Rishabh Pant is captaining the team, Srikkanth believes that things are not going his way because some of his choices haven’t benefited LSG.
Pant is falling behind him in that area, the cricket player-turned-expert remarked, recalling how he used to come up with creative tactics to get out when he used to play.
Unfortunately, Rishabh Pant’s situation is not improving. He always seems to make mistakes when captaining, whether it’s field placements or bowling adjustments. His situation is not favourable. He appears to be playing hesitant shots with little clarity, even if he can play freely and boldly with the bat. He keeps coming up with new ways to get kicked out of games. I used to come up with methods to get kicked out while I was playing, and Pant is doing worse than me. The former chairman of the selectors stated, “I was like that thirty years ago, and now he is finding new ways to get out — reverse-sweep, reverse-paddle, swinging wildly — all of it is happening.”
India
