‘He has optimised his resources and…’ - Mohammed Kaif lauds Rishabh Pant for his captaincy in IPL 2025

Former India batter Mohammed Kaif has come up with big praise for the LSG skipper and star wicketkeeper-batter, Rishabh Pant, for his amazing captaincy skills in the ongoing IPL 2025. Kaif also remembered Pant’s tactics in the T20 World Cup 2024 final to benefit India against South Africa.

The former Indian cricketer also lauded Rishabh Pant for using his players wisely to win the close games in the tournament’s current season. Notably, LSG are currently placed in sixth place in the tournament’s points table, with five wins and four defeats in their nine games so far.

Rishabh Pant has been doing good captaincy - Mohammed Kaif

They are coming off three wins and only two defeats in the last five games they played in the tournament. Kaif hailed Pant’s intelligence during the pressure situations.

“Rishabh Pant has been doing good captaincy in IPL 2025. He has optimised his resources very well, working with a young bowler in Avesh Khan, a rookie in Digvesh Rathi & a replacement player in Shardul Thakur - still managed to win big games through close margins towards the end,” said Mohammed Kaif on Star Sports.

“He even helped Avesh defend nine runs off the final over in one of the games. It's important to get the best out of the players that you have got, and that's what Rishabh has done, despite not having any big international bowlers in their squad,” he added later.

Furthermore, Kaif recalled the incident when Pant went on to lie down on the ground during the high-intense T20 World Cup 2024 final between India and South Africa.

“This is not the first time this has happened. In the 2024 T20 World Cup final, when 30 runs were needed off 30 balls and Klaasen and Miller were at the crease, it was Rishabh Pant who lay down on the ground to summon the physios. When you delay the game, momentum gets disrupted, and batters don't like that. In the final overs, when the pressure is high, batters want things to move quickly, and Rishabh Pant understands that. Kudos to him for slowing the game down,” he said.