It may still be early days for Rishabh Pant in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, but the Lucknow Super Giants captain has already become a talking point. He opened the innings against the Delhi Capitals on Wednesday, sparking debate over the move, and was later seen in a tense exchange with owner Sanjiv Goenka following a six-wicket defeat. While Pant, the IPL’s costliest-ever signing at ₹27 crore, has enjoyed a successful IPL career, he remains something of an enigma in T20Is for India. So much so that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he hasn’t yet fully cracked the format.
Pant has gradually slipped out of India’s T20I and ODI squads, and although he has cemented his legacy in Tests, his struggles in limited-overs cricket persist. With plenty of wicketkeepers breathing down his neck, the road ahead is only going to get tougher. Amid this phase, former Michael Vaughan believes it may not be a bad idea for Pant to watch and learn from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. India’s 15-year-old boy wonder is showing no signs of slowing down, and Vaughan feels Pant would benefit from embracing the same free-flowing mindset at the crease.
“He’s playing for a country that’s got so much depth. He would get into every other nation’s team because of the skillset – he can whack the ball, is a good keeper and a good thinker. But when it comes to playing for India, you’ve got Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, and Jitesh Sharma. There’s a galaxy of wicketkeeper batters, and it’s not going to be easy for him. The biggest profile and the biggest stage are now. For him to have another humdinger of an IPL – bat well, captain well. If I were him, I would be watching Sooryavanshi. Because when Rishabh plays, it reminds me a lot of him. It’s just the free spirit. Rishabh should bat at No. 3, try to whack it out of the park. His mindset should be ‘I can hit a 100 off 48 balls,” Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
Zaheer’s true feelings about Pant’s T20I career
Former India pacer Zaheer Khan hit the nail on the head while breaking down Pant’s journey in the IPL and T20Is. Pant made his international debut in 2017, with India confident he was tailor-made for T20 cricket. However, after showing early promise, he evolved into a far bigger force in Tests and, to an extent, in ODIs. Why so?
“It’s an interesting one. Because for me, he is someone who has that impact across formats. He might not have the numbers to show right now, but other than that, he has been ticking a lot of boxes in this format as well. It’s just that comparisons are made with his Test numbers. Which are so good and impactful that you expect the same returns, or maybe even surpass them. He’s the fastest to score 3000 runs; he’s been around for 10 years now. He’s achieved a lot in IPL. In T20Is, he needs to stabilise the position he bats at. He can bat at any number, but that’s what makes it confusing. Also, he can do a little to find balance in his own approach,” mentioned Zaheer.
