Five reasons why Rishabh Pant as LSG captain is a wrong choice

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) began their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign with a loss against the Delhi Capitals on Monday. Rishabh Pant who was formerly with Delhi, was picked up by LSG for a mammoth INR 27 Crores during the auctions last year. At one stage in the game, Lucknow looked like the favorites to win the game. Delhi had initially lost half their side with their score reading 65 in the seventh over. 

Rishabh Pant had a day to forget with the bat as he was out for five-ball duck. As a wicketkeeper, Pant missed the crucial stumping of Mohit Sharma in what was a key turning point during the game. Mohit ventured down the track and Pant failed to grab the ball and saw an easy chance go abegging. 

Former India batter Ambati Rayudu during his chat with ESPN CRICINFO said, “We have been highlighting his shot selection against the spinners. He is trying to hit sixes instead of building his innings by playing in gaps. His batting needs improvement, especially in the middle overs, if he wants to bat in the middle overs.”

Also Read: Rishabh Pant plays perfect MS Dhoni like helicopter shot during Lucknow Super Giants’ practice

Here are the five reasons why Rishabh Pant as the LSG captain is a wrong choice:

5. Inconsistent form with the bat 

Over the last few months, Rishabh Pant has been inconsistent with the bat. The 27-year-old scored a century against Bangladesh during the Chennai Test. This was followed by a good start with the bat which weren’t converted into big scores. Pant’s last outing for India was in the SCG Test, saw him score a fifty. As a captain, Pant needs to lead from the front which he wasn’t able to do in the game against Delhi on Monday.

4. Prior experience as Delhi skipper

Before becoming the captain of LSG, Pant was also the skipper of Delhi Capitals. Under his reign, the team wasn’t able to make it to the playoff consistently. Pant, led the side to a sixth place finish in IPL 2024 after a mid-season revival in form. As a captain, the young wicketkeeper saw his side fail to grab the key moments at various points. Similar issues were seen on Monday, when LSG lost the plot once Ashutosh Sharma began to defend the attack. 

3. Inability to create pressure moments 

Rishabh Pant saw his side make a great start with the ball where they reduced DC to seven runs for the loss of three wickets. Shardul Thakur and M Siddharth had removed the top order which included the wickets of Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abhishek Porel, and Sameer Rizvi. Despite LSG losing five wickets, Pant failed to attack Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, and later Ashutosh Sharma. The trio batted well to pull Delhi out of the hole and pull off a terrific heist with the bat. 

2. Not giving Shardul Thakur his full quota of overs 

It may be quick to judge, but the biggest mistake Pant made was holding back Shardul Thakur. The 33-year-old had bowled two overs and picked couple of wickets and giving away 19 runs. With Delhi’s lower order going berserk, Pant should have turned to Thakur who has an experience of bowling during the death overs in the past. Thakur, can bowl the slower ball well and also use the knuckle ball well. This was a huge error by the LSG skipper who saw DC’s batters make mincemeat of the spinners. 

Also Read: Rishabh Pant arrives at LSG camp for IPL 2025; mimics 'Rocky Bhai' of KFG

1. Pressure of price tag

Being the costliest cricketer in the IPL has its own pitfalls, Mitchell Starc found it tough in the early part of the 2024 season. Pant, is not only the costliest player, but also one of the most sought after in the next generation of Indian cricketers. Lucknow had the likes of Nicholas Pooran or Aiden Markram in the ranks who could have done well as the skipper of the side. The decision to appoint him could backfire for the team, considering the interest he will attract because of his price tag every time he walks onto the field.