Lucknow Super Giants bowling coach Bharat Arun has strongly defended skipper Rishabh Pant, stating that his massive Rs 27 crore price tag is irrelevant to his form.
After joining LSG for a record sum, the wicketkeeper-batter failed to leave a mark in the 2025 season, scoring only 269 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.17.
In the ongoing IPL 2026, Pant has scored 189 runs in 8 matches with a 126.84 strike rate, leaving LSG at the bottom with only 2 wins.
However, Arun remains confident in the captain's imminent turnaround, asserting that he is "one innings away" from hitting top gear.
“I don't think the price tag has got to do anything with it,” Arun replied when asked about Pant's struggles for the last two years.
“It's just a question of, if you really look at his batting throughout and if you look at the second game that we played, he took us through the (finish) line.
“I wouldn't be too concerned about his form. It's just a question of (him being) one innings away from getting back his form,” Arun told reporters on the eve of LSG’s clash against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.
The former India bowling coach declared that every remaining match in the league stage is effectively a "knockout" game for LSG, stressing the need for focused performance over data analysis to overcome their challenging position.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel. For us, we have no other way to go. Every game is a knockout for us right from here,” Arun said.
“I don't think reading too much into data would really help. It's just that how we perform and how we focus on the things that we are confident about matters the most,” he added.
Arun detailed the franchise's strategic efforts to keep left-arm fast bowler Mohsin Khan fit and firing this season.
“Injuries are an inherent part of a fast bowler's career. You can probably delay the onset of injuries. But every bowler can get injured,” he said.
“We have had camps two and a half months prior to this and our strength and training coach and the physios have really worked on him at least three months in advance for him to come back and remain in peak form. The kind of work he put into his fitness is reaping rewards right now.”
Arun confirmed that express pacer Mayank Yadav is fully fit but the call on his selection will be taken by the team management.
“That's for the team management to decide. But if you ask me if he's fit, I would say yes, he's fit and ready to go right now. He's bowling quick and he's back to his old ways where he started,” Arun said.
Bharat Arun also acknowledged Mohammad Shami’s brilliance, wondering why the veteran pacer is not part of the Indian national side.
“Shami's mindset is very, very clear. On numerous occasions, he (has) said, ‘selection is not in my hands but to do well is in my hands'. That's exactly what he's doing,” Arun said.
"If you look at the form in which he's bowling, everybody now is talking ‘why is Shami not in the national team?' I think it's totally up to him. He enjoys his bowling (and) that is what he says.”
(With PTI Inputs)
