LSG was defeated soundly by 8 wickets in Lucknow by DC.
Rishabh Pant, who was expected to fetch Rs. 27 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction, has undoubtedly been the biggest disappointment thus far. There were high expectations for the elegant left-hander, but LSG lost both matches against DC under Pant's leadership. Pant stepped out to bat at No. 7 on Tuesday, despite Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, and David Miller being ahead of him.
Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh once again gave Lucknow an impressive start at the top, scoring 87 runs for the first wicket. However, the hosts only managed to score 159/6 at Ekana. Pant, who came out to bat following Ayush Badoni's departure, was bowled by Mukesh Kumar before he could even open his account.
Moments after being dismissed, Pant was seen having an intense conversation with former India bowler and current LSG instructor Zaheer Khan in the dugout.
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Interestingly, Pant's initial outburst at Zaheer came in the 19th over, while he was all padded up and waiting on the bench to bat.
Former India cricketers Anil Kumble and Suresh Raina believe Pant's dissatisfaction stemmed from the team management's decision to send him out to bat so late.
"It's alright if you wanted to bat more freely under less pressure by coming in late, but this was way too late. The kind of frustration Rishabh is showing is evident that he was wronged. He probably wanted to bat higher. Was it his decision? Or was it coach Justin Langer's or maybe mentor Zaheer Khan's? Whose decision was it? Because he looked very frustrated," Kumble said on Star Sports.
Pant and the team's mentor Zaheer even seemed to have an argument on the bench, with Raina suggesting that it was about the wicket-keeper batter's position.
"20 overs are left. You have to keep wickets and captain the side. You have to make your side win. He is discussing that with Zaheer Khan. 'I told you, send me in'," Raina said.
While the output was understandably frustrating, Kumble feels it was wrong for Pant to react the way he did.
"You have to make peace in these situations. He is the captain. He has to take it in a positive way. Whatever frustration or anger he has, he should translate that into positive performance," said Kumble.
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