3 reasons why LSG signing Rishabh Pant at IPL 2025 Auction is the wrong move

Rishabh Pant made history by becoming the most expensive player sold in the history of the IPL. He was acquired by the Luckow Super Giants (LSG) for a whopping INR 27 crores.

Pant has played eight seasons for the Delhi franchise since his debut in 2016. IPL 2025 will be the first season when Pant will play for any franchise other than Delhi.

Though Pant has a good track record in the IPL, the fact that LSG spent a sum of Rs. 27 crores on the southpaw may backfire.

Here is a look at three reasons why LSG signing Pant at the IPL auction is the wrong move:

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#1 LSG already have Nicholas Pooran in their ranks

LSG has already retained Nicholas Pooran for a sum of Rs. 21 crores

Rishabh Pant is a player similar to Nicholas Pooran. Both Pant and Pooran are aggressive middle-order batters and can keep wickets.

LSG retained Pooran for a sum of INR 21 crores ahead of the IPL 2021 auction. LSG did not need a wicketkeeper as Pooran regularly keeps wickets in the IPL and also in T20Is.

Thus, LSG have spent 48 crores on two similar players which could be a bit of a concern going ahead in the auction.

Pooran has captained West Indies in the past and the fact that the franchise invested Rs. 21 crores in him, he could have been given the additional responsibility of captaining the side.

LSG needed top order batters instead of another keeper-batter in the middle-order going into IPL 2025.

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#2 It has damaged the auction purse significantly

LSG retained five players ahead of IPL 2025 auction viz. Nicholas Pooran (21 crores), Ravi Bishnoi (11 crores), Mayank Yadav (11 crores), Mohsin Khan (4 crores) and Ayushi Badoni (4 crores). Accordingly, the franchise had Rs. 69 crores ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.

LSG acquired Rishabh Pant for INR 27 crores and have a purse of only INR 42 crores for the remaining players.

Having spent 79 crores on only six players, it remains to be seen how LSG manage to build a squad out of the balance funds.

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#3 Could have acquired other top-order batters for a relatively lower amount

Quinton de Kock has tasted success in the IPL in the past and has a decent strike rate of almost 135 in the IPL. He has played for LSG in the past and the franchise could have acquired the South African keeper-batter for a relatively lower sum than the franchise paid for Pant.

Similarly, LSG could have exercised the option of bidding for Jos Buttler who has an impressive IPL record. Buttler was sold for Rs. 15.75 crores to Gujarat Titans. Buttler has an astounding strike rate of 147.53 in IPL and has seven IPL centuries.

Buttler could have been a handy opening batter for the franchise and also a captaincy option for the team. For the record, Buttler was the skipper of the Enland team that won the T20 World Cup 2022.