Who said what - top 5 expert reactions on Rishabh Pant's batting position in LSG vs DC IPL 2025 match ft. Harbhajan Singh

Cricket fraternity questioned Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant’s batting position in Match 40 of IPL 2025 against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday in Lucknow. Notably, Pant came in at No. 7 and departed for a two-ball duck, triggering the criticism.

After being invited to bat first, LSG were off to a sublime start, with Aiden Markram (52) and Mitchell Marsh (45). However, Nicholas Pooran (9) and Abdul Samad (2) failed to continue the momentum.

Instead of coming to the team’s rescue, Pant brought in Ayush Badoni (36) and David Miller (14*) ahead of him. The LSG skipper arrived in the 20th over and was bowled on a duck, as the side posted 159 on the board. Mukesh Kumar picked up four wickets for the visitors.

In response, KL Rahul (57*) and Abishek Porel (51) were the top-scorers for DC, as they sealed the chase with 13 balls to spare. Aiden Markram was the only wicket-taker for LSG with two dismissals.

On that note, let’s take a look at the top expert reactions to Rishabh Pant’s batting position.

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#1 Anil Kumble

During an interaction on Star Sports, Anil Kumble opined that it was fine if Rishabh Pant wanted to arrive late to have freedom to play his natural game. But he added that coming in the last over and at No. 7 was not a correct decision. Kumble wondered if it was Pant's decision or the team management's. He said:

"If you want to play freely, without any pressure, you should come a little late to the crease, but this is way too late. Looking at how frustrated Rishabh Pant is looking out there, you can see something wrong has happened. Maybe he wanted to go out early. Was it his decision? Was it Justin Langer or Zaheer Khan's? Because he clearly looks frustrated."

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#2 Aakash Chopra

The former cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra hinted that the key reason behind Rishabh Pant's late arrival was due to an injury. However, Chopra thinks if Pant did arrive at the crease, he should have come earlier. Here's what he said on his YouTube channel:

"Rishabh Pant came to bat for only two balls. What are you doing? If you have blisters on your hand, say that, and if not, come to bat. We saw something tied on his hand during the toss, and I got news that he has blisters on his hand, and that's probably the reason. However, if you are playing and eventually go to bat, you should have gone to bat earlier. Exactly, what is happening in the LSG camp, I want to know."

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#3 Harbhajan Singh

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh expressed his disappointment with Rishabh Pant demoting himself against Delhi Capitals. Harbhajan wondered who called the shots for Pant's late arrival, and noticed that the southpaw wasn't as cheerful as always during the game. He said:

"Rishabh Pant came to bat at No. 7, but why? What is the reason behind it? It's beyond my understanding. The likes of Abdul Samad and Ayush Badoni went ahead of him, let's just ask ourselves whether he is a No. 7 batter. Whose decision was that, whether it was of the team management or Pant?"

He added:

"Pant was frustrated and angry, it seemed like someone had told him something, and he was not happy with that. From my understanding, there must have been a talk related to Pant, resulting in him not being in a good mood during the entire game. But, is it justified that a player like Rishabh Pant is sent at No. 7, irrespective of his form?"

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#4 Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara shared his thoughts on Rishabh Pant's batting position in a post-match analysis on ESPNcricinfo. As per Pujara, Pant is best suited for middle overs, and should not treat himself as a finisher. He said:

“I genuinely don't know what the thought process was. But there's no doubt - he should be batting higher up the order. He's trying to do what MS Dhoni does, but he's nowhere near that level. I still feel he's someone who should be batting during the middle overs, between the 6th and 15th. He's not a finisher, and he shouldn't be doing the job of one."

As per Pujara, Pant should not come later than No. 5, and he suggested the LSG management to trust the keeper-batter's abilities. He added:

"Even if he's not batting at No. 4, he should be batting at No. 5. Nothing later than that. If your top-order ends up batting for 15 overs, then you can understand that he is coming down the order. But, he shouldn't be sent in at No. 6 or 7, I don't think that's the kind of role he should be playing. Even if he is out of form, the team management should trust him as a batter."

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#5 Nick Knight

In the aforementioned interaction on ESPNcricinfo, former England batter Nick Knight opined that Rishabh Pant should bat higher up in order to get his form and confidence back. He said:

"You want your leader to be out there, you want your leader to be leading with the way he is playing and if he is not playing that way, you have to give him the chance to do it. It's a 20-over game, there is not much time."

Further, Knight feels under-pressure Pant will not help the team's cause, and he needs to sort out issues quickly. He added:

“We have been in dressing rooms. The one thing that makes the dressing room more vulnerable than anything else is a captain under pressure. And clearly, Pant is a captain under pressure. That's the first bit. The second bit is how does the management deal with a captain under pressure. That's really important. There are a lot of questions there."