Rishabh Pant in the IPL, and in T20 cricket as a whole, remains a quandary. His performances in a Lucknow Super Giants shirt over the last two years have been nothing short of wasteful given the INR 27 crore paycheck he was cut in the auction. For many, the consensus has been reached that Pant isn’t a natural T20 hitter anymore, even if his Test form remains supreme in an Indian jersey.
It’s tough to tell what’s going wrong with Pant, whether it’s a technical deficiency in his high-risk approach, or if it is the pressure of captaincy and the price-tag. Pant had a good season in his last year with Delhi in 2024, but hasn’t been able to kick on from there, looking like a shadow of the player he was in his monstrous 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Former cricketer and pundit Navjot Singh Sidhu diagnosed that it’s not a question of bowlers figuring out the playbook on Rishabh Pant, but rather him playing himself into trouble – as he did injuring himself with a wild hoick across the line against Josh Hazlewood and RCB.
“I don’t think bowlers are getting Rishabh out; more often, he is getting himself out. He has the talent and ability, and if he gives himself time, he can turn it around,” asserted Sidhu on Star Sports, believing that time in the middle would help Pant.
This hasn’t particularly proven to be the case – even as Pant has attempted to take a few balls to settle himself, he then struggles to accelerate through the gears, ultimately providing neither one thing or the other. Not a good mix for a man at the forefront of the franchise. Pant has provided 104 runs in 5 innings this IPL, with a disappointing strike-rate of 122.
Unrealised potential hurting LSG
Pant’s malaise has translated to LSG’s overall form – while they have two wins in the season, they haven’t looked cohesive, falling tamely to both GT and RCB in the last week. There was no easy solution for this, argued Sidhu.
“At the moment, both, their batting and bowling, seem to be struggling. There is a lot of soul searching that needs to be done. Their problems have persisted, especially with the top order not firing,” he explained.
Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram were possible the best opening duo in the IPL in 2025, but aren’t at the best of their abilities to start 2026, which has had a knock-on effect. Even worse is Nicholas Pooran’s season, who too seems to be a shadow of his former self and completely off-colour.
“They have been heavily dependent on their top three, but the returns haven’t come. When you look at players like Markram, Pooran, Marsh and Rishabh Pant, there is immense potential, but the partnerships are missing. Even a 50-run stand at the top has been rare,” concluded Sidhu.
