'We have to recognise that he's still yet...' - Former India cricketer reveals reason behind Rishabh Pant's failed performance in IPL 2025

Sanjay Bangar, the former India batting coach, opened up about Rishabh Pant's performance in cricket and revealed the reasons why it has decreased in recent years. As per the former player, Pant is yet to understand white-ball cricket, which is why he hasn't been able to showcase his performance. Pant, who is the highest-paid cricketer (INR 27 crores) in the history of the IPL, has failed to impress with his performance this season for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). 

He has scored 128 runs in the 11 innings he played and is also in the list of players with the lowest averages (12.8) with at least 100 balls played. This speaks volumes about his struggle in the T20 format. Meanwhile, LSG have also had a shaky tournament so far with no surety of qualifying for the playoffs. 

"We have to recognise that he's still yet to totally understand the white-ball game - both formats, 50-over cricket as well as T20 cricket. A fabulous Test match batter, make no mistake about it, but here in this particular season, what I noticed is that he got out a number of times looking to play shots behind the wicket," said Sanjay Bangar on Star Sports.

He just got caught in that confusion: Sanjay Bangar

Sanjay Bangar analyzed Rishabh Pant's batting and mentioned that he has been looking to play those unorthodox shots, which have been his enemy in white-ball cricket. If he sticks to the basics, he performs much better. With the suspension of the IPL, Pant will get some time for himself to think and understand what he's doing wrong. 

"Now, you pull out the best innings of Rishabh - where has he looked to score the runs? Drives through covers, step down the track and try to hit the sightscreen or go over midwicket, square. But here he was trying to play those reverse sweeps or shots that are very fine. So as a batter, I think probably he just got caught in that confusion and forgot that his best game, or that he plays at his best, is when he's looking to score down the ground," added Bangar.