Rishabh Pant-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) crumbled to a comprehensive defeat against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday, with a lot of debate surrounding the low position that he batted in. Pant came in to bat at No. 7, with the likes of Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni and David Miller coming out ahead of him. Then, visuals showed some animated chats in the dugout between Pant and LSG mentor Zaheer Khan. However, former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu has slammed Pant’s attitude.
“I feel Pant really needs to take the onus on himself. He really needs to take the decisions on his own. Sometimes these visuals are not really good if you are a good team,” said Rayudu, speaking on Star Sports.
“You want everything to be behind closed doors. You want everything to be said indoors. And also you don’t want any dirty laundry to be washed outside,” Rayudu added.
Pant cut an upset figure during several parts of LSG’s fielding effort, with visuals showing him discontent with bowlers Digvesh Rathi and Avesh Khan at times.
Pant has endured a rough season with the bat, managing to score only 106 runs in nine matches, at a strike rate of under 100.
Rayudu urged Pant to take more responsibility when it comes to LSG’s decisions.
“Pant really needs to take the control of the decisions that are being made at LSG. He needs to come up the order. He cannot give any more excuses. He is the captain and it is a captain’s sport. We all acknowledge that,” Rayudu said.
“Going forward, LSG need to make a few changes: maybe get Mayank Yadav in. Also Pant has to bat slightly higher. You are visibly quite tense about the whole situation,” Rayudu added.
LSG vs DC, IPL 2025: As it happened
KL Rahul hit an unbeaten 57 to steer Delhi Capitals to an emphatic eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants and get his side back to winning ways in the IPL on Tuesday.
Chasing a modest 160 for victory, Delhi rode on Rahul’s 42-ball knock and a second-wicket partnership with Abishek Porel, who hit 51, to achieve their target with 13 balls to spare at Lucknow’s home ground.
Delhi, with six wins in eight matches, bounced back from their previous defeat to table-toppers Gujarat Titans and are second in the 10-team table.
“We knew we were 20 runs short,” said Pant. “In Lucknow, the toss plays a big part. Whoever is bowling first, they get a lot of help from the wicket. We just had to stay back, we just couldn’t get it away.”
With AFP inputs
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