The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have been very concerned about Rishabh Pant’s form. During his team’s most recent match against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on April 27, the LSG captain failed once more, being removed for just four runs. Additionally, the Lucknow team lost their fifth tournament game, which made it a little harder for them to qualify for the playoffs.
Pant has only amassed 110 runs at a pitiful average of 12.22 and strike rate of 98.21 in 10 games thus far. Notably, LSG purchased Pant at the November mega auction last year for an incredible INR 27 crore. Although some believe that the wicketkeeper-batter is under pressure due to the price tag, LSG coach Zaheer Khan has given an honest appraisal, saying that Pant has been a fantastic leader and would ultimately get back to his previous level.
“I wouldn’t associate it with that kind of thing. I can attest to the fact that he is an excellent leader. The efforts he has been making to ensure that every member of that group feels at ease, heard, and that the planning for everything that occurs in the IPL has been spot on,” Zaheer told the media following the defeat to MI.
“I don’t think pressure is the cause of it. The 2011 World Champion continued, “You have seen that he is the type of personality… what happened in the last game is something that is gone by and what is going to happen. He is a very optimistic and positive personality, so from our side, it’s just about continuing with that.”
We’ve identified Rishabh Pant as that leader who is going to take this team forward: Zaheer Khan
Zaheer added further that Pant is going to continue leading the team, shutting down speculations of him being dropped from the team next season. He has also given his insights on how a form of cricketer changes going forward in the tournament.
“When you’re talking about a team, you’re talking about winning the tournament. We’ve identified Rishabh as that leader who is going to take this team forward, so there is no doubt about that, There are going to be people who are going to hit form. There are going to be people who are going to be short on form, that’s the way game goes,” Zaheer said.
“We know that in the back-end of the tournament now, the pressure is going to be high, so that’s the focus and it’s about finding that one innings, that is something for anyone, I always say,” the two-time IPL finalist concluded.
India
