"I think he knows" - Sunil Gavaskar opens up on Rishabh Pant's captaincy after LSG lose thriller to DC in IPL 2025

Former India batter-turned-pundit Sunil Gavaskar has weighed in on Rishabh Pant's captaincy for his new side Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their season opener against the Delhi Capitals (DC). LSG lost the match in the last over, failing to defend 209.

Rishabh Pant had a forgettable day on debut for LSG. As a batter, Pant struggled to break his shackles and was dismissed for a six-ball duck. Leading LSG for the first time, the nerves seem to have gotten the better of him, with the 26-year-old missing a crucial stumping in the last over against Mohit Sharma.

Taking cognizance of how Pant went about in his debut game for his new franchise, Gavaskar said (via JioHotstar):

"I think he knows. He actually mentioned in the post-match interview that you often learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. When you bat well, there’s not much to reflect upon, but when you don’t perform with the bat or ball, you understand the areas that need improvement. This is just the first match, and there are 13 more to go."

He added:

"Rishabh Pant is an intelligent cricketer, and he will have picked up valuable insights regarding his batting and captaincy. I believe we will see an improved performance from him. Additionally, when a captain scores runs or takes wickets, it significantly boosts their confidence in making bowling changes and setting the field. Once he gets some runs under his belt, I expect his captaincy to become even more assured."

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Ashutosh Sharma plays a blinder to take Delhi Capitals home in their opening IPL 2025 clash

Chasing 210 for a win, Delhi were in trouble early on when they lost three out of their top four batters for just seven runs. Axar Patel and Faf du Plessis put together a few runs before getting dismissed. Vipraj Nigam (39 off 15) and Ashutosh Sharma (66* off 31) put together 55 runs in 22 deliveries for the sixth wicket before the former was dismissed.

Despite a lack of batting depth, Ashutosh batted with the lower order and ended the chase with a six as DC won by a wicket. The two teams will face each other again at the BRSABV Ekana Stadium, Lucknow, on April 22.