 "Rishabh Pant hits back amid criticism over batting failures: 'Not right to question an individual every time'")
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant has finally opened up on his poor form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Pant was dismissed for just 4 runs while trying a reverse sweep, as LSG lost by 54 runs while chasing 215 against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Pant’s form has been a big worry for LSG this season. He has managed just 110 runs in nine innings, with an average of 12.22 and a strike rate of 98.21. He has tried batting at different positions, from opening to No. 4, and even at No. 7, but nothing has worked so far for the star Indian wicketkeeper-batter.
Pant focused on team over individual form
Pant spoke about keeping things simple after another disappointing outing in IPL 2025. After the match, Pant said, “See I am keeping it very simple. Not thinking about my form too much because in a season like this, where things are not going your way, you’re going to start questioning yourself as a player and that is something you don’t want to do.”
“When the team isn’t doing well, you’ve got to think about that because eventually it’s a team game. Yes, one player definitely makes a difference, but every time if you take out the individual, it’s not the right thing to do, I guess,” he added.
Pant made headlines at the IPL 2025 auction when LSG bought him for a record INR 27 crore, making him the most expensive player in IPL history. But so far, he has struggled to live up to the huge expectations. His team LSG is also struggling to break free from the mid-table logjam as they have just five wins in 10 matches.
Zaheer Khan backs Pant to bounce back
However, LSG mentor Zaheer Khan has backed Pant to do well in upcoming matches and praised him as a leader.
“He’s a leader and he’s been fantastic as a leader. That’s something which I can vouch for. The kind of efforts he’s been taking to make sure that each individual in that group is comfortable, is heard, and the planning to do everything which goes around in IPL, he’s being spot on,” Zaheer Khan said.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“As a batter… the middle order is dependent on Rishabh. And I’m very confident that the impact, which we want from him, will come. It’s just about something clicking. So I wouldn’t relate it to pressure.”
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