Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant is set to bat at number three in the next IPL season, which could be a make-or-break one for the most expensive player in the league’s history, news agency PTI reported. Pant is under pressure after having a modest season – save his century – despite having been paid Rs 27 crore.ย
Pant, who has only been a regular in Indiaโs Test side and a backup wicket-keeper in ODIs, lost his place in T20sย after Indiaโs 2024 World Cup win. With Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan now automatic picks, Pant must produce a standout IPL season to remain relevant in the shortest format.
Pant scored century at No.3 last year
Last season, Pant mainly batted at number four but pushed himself to three too late to change LSGโs fortunes. He hit his second IPL century last season batting at No.3 against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. However, as he steps up the order, Nicholas Pooran will move down with the middle order being flexible depending on match situations. The top-order is locked with Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, and Pant, while the middle-order includes Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, and Shabaz Ahmed.
The LSG support staff and Pant are on the same page when it comes to their leader’s batting position.
“It is clear to the team management as well as Pant that his game is best suited for number three. This season the top-order is locked in with Aiden, Marsh and Pant. The middle-order is flexible and players will be floated as per the game situation,” an IPL source told PTI.
LSG’s bowling needs to brush off last year’s horror
LSGโs bowling struggled last season due to injuries to Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan, leaving Avesh Khan and Anrich Nortje as primary pace options. While Mayank is now fit, the team is working on combinations to strengthen the attack.
“The batting is settled. The bowling group looks a lot better than last year, but the combinations are yet to be worked out. Mayank is fit but needs to bowl a lot more in the nets. Hopefully, he will repay the faith the team has shown him over the past four to five years,” the source added.
Faf du Plessis feels Pant will be under most pressure
Meanwhile, former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis highlighted Pant as the player under the most scrutiny, noting the dual burden of leading a batting-heavy side and performing individually. “For me, Rishabh Pant is probably the player in the IPL, who is under the most pressure this season. Some guys flourish under the pressure of the price tag, while some don’t. I think last season was a really tough one for him. The team struggled, and he also struggled with runs in the way that he batted,” Du Plessis told Jio Star.ย
“So, there is all that pressure coming into the season, along with the expectations of what the team is going to do. With a batting-heavy team, how are they going to maximise their bowling? Because there is pressure on your Captain, scoring runs is your first job. So, if he is scoring runs as a Captain, it takes pressure off in the first instance. But then there is a second instance, which is the team performance overall. And last year, both of those things had big red crosses against them,” he added.