"I have never seen so much money together in my life" - Aakash Chopra on price tag potentially affecting Rishabh Pant ahead of LSG-GT IPL 2025 clash

Former India player Aakash Chopra is unsure whether Rishabh Pant's lean run in IPL 2025 is because of the pressure of the exorbitant amount he was bought for by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the mega auction. He opined that captaincy pressure could also be a reason behind the LSG skipper's underwhelming performances.

LSG acquired Pant for a whopping ₹27 crore at the IPL 2025 auction last November and subsequently appointed him as their skipper for the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League. The wicketkeeper-batter has aggregated only 19 runs at a dismal average of 4.75 in four innings heading into the franchise's clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Lucknow on Saturday, April 12.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener was asked whether the price tag is affecting Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025.

"I don't know. I have never seen so much money together in my life. So how would I know what pressure is? However, could it be pressure? It could be the pressure of money, or it could be the pressure of captaincy," he responded (6:45).

Chopra questioned the LSG skipper for not going out to bat in their previous game against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

"I was slightly surprised when he didn't go out to bat in the last match. Go to bat, at least, because how would runs be scored if you don't go? However, he didn't go to bat at all. He will have to score runs now," he observed.

LSG posted 238/3 and eventually registered a four-run win in their IPL 2025 clash against KKR in Kolkata on April 8. Rishabh Pant promoted Abdul Samad (6 off 4) and David Miller (4* off 4) ahead of himself and didn't get to bat in that game.

---

"Whenever you are getting out, you are getting closer to succeeding and not failing" - Aakash Chopra on the road ahead for Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025

Rishabh Pant has a strike rate of 59.37 in IPL 2025. [P/C: iplt20.com]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that a big score from Rishabh Pant is around the corner.

"What will the road ahead be from here? Greg Chappell sahab told a very good thing to me once. It applies to both him (Pant) and Rohit Sharma. If you are going through a bad patch, check your career stats, and you would find you would have scored a fifty in every fifth or sixth inning. So whenever you are getting out, you are getting closer to succeeding and not failing," he said (7:10).

The cricketer-turned-commentator expressed hope about the left-handed batter firing with the bat in LSG's IPL 2025 clash against GT.

"Four or five innings have gone bad now. It means that if you stick to your basics, keep concentrating, and accept you are in bad form, as you play slightly cautiously then, a good knock will come. I really hope he gets back to scoring runs in this game because the team, I think, is punching above its weight because the top three are playing very well, but the bowling is slightly weak," Chopra observed.

Nicholas Pooran (288 runs at a strike rate of 225.00 in five innings) and Mitchell Marsh (265 runs at a strike rate of 180.27 in five innings) have been LSG's star performers with the bat in IPL 2025. Aiden Markram, who has scored 144 runs at a strike rate of 142.57 in his five hits, has also performed decently this season.