- विज्ञापन -
New Delhi: Former India batsman Ambati Rayudu has voiced concerns over Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant, expressing sympathy for the wicketkeeper-batsman for being “pretty stubborn” about not altering his batting order or approach.
Pant, who was the most expensive purchase at the recent IPL auction at Rs 27 crore, has not yet justified his price. In 10 matches, he has scored only 128 runs, with five innings in single digits, including a duck. He has only one half-century so far in the tournament.
In Sunday’s game against Punjab Kings, he came in at No. 4 after an early collapse but scored just 18 off 17 balls while chasing a target of 237.
Rayudu said, “Right now, I feel very sorry for him because he’s not changing his batting position or his mindset. He seems quite stubborn about how he wants to play, and it’s not working for him at the moment. It’s common in this sport to go through a bad patch—anyone can experience it.”
He urged Pant to learn from his struggles and adapt, saying, “I hope he accepts that he’s struggling, tries to do things differently, and improves each day without stubbornness.”
Rayudu also suggested that Pant lacks the right mindset and approach for a middle-order role, proposing that he might perform better as an opener in white-ball cricket.
“I think what he needs is clarity on his role. For me, Pant is naturally an opener in limited-overs cricket because he doesn’t have the right skill set or mindset for the middle order. Maybe he has the skills, but not the mental approach to make it work,” Rayudu added.
In the match, PBKS opener Prabhsimran Singh scored a quick 91 off 48 balls, and with late contributions from captain Shreyas Iyer (45 off 25), Shashank Singh (33 off 15), and Marcus Stoinis (15* off 5), PBKS posted a formidable total of 236/5 in 20 overs.
In response, despite a notable half-century from Ayush Badoni and a quick 45 from Abdul Samad off 24 balls, Lucknow fell short by 37 runs.
