LSG captain Rishabh Pant would consider himself unlucky as he was run out at the non-striker’s end in the team’s opening match of the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League against Delhi Capitals at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
The Result
Rishabh Pant’s absence for the majority of Lucknow Super Giants’ batting innings was one of the reasons why the team failed to post an above-par total, as the left-hander has the ability to take the game away from the opposition in no time.
The Performance
However, despite being on the receiving end of the dismissal in the season opener against the Delhi Capitals, there is no denying the fact that Rishabh Pant is in desperate need of runs after a lacklustre performance in IPL 2025.
The Reaction
Talking about Rishabh Pant’s performance or the lack of it former England captain Michael Vaughan suggested that the wicketkeeper batter should take a leaf out of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s book, the 15-year-old opening batter who has been the talk of the town since making his debut in the IPL last year.
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Expert’s Corner
Vaughan said on Cricbuzz, “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.”
What They Said
When asked from Zaheer about what he thinks about Pant’s struggles in T20 cricket, the former Indian fast bowler said, “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.”
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