Top 5 experts who criticized Rishabh Pant after another failure in MI vs LSG IPL 2025 match ft. Harbhajan Singh

The cricket fraternity criticized Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant for yet another failure in IPL 2025 on Sunday, April 27. Pant could only score 4 off 2 against Mumbai Indians (MI) as the Super Giants succumbed to a 54-run defeat at the Wankhede.

Batting first, Ryan Rickelton (58) and Suryakumar Yadav (54) played impressive knocks to help MI post a standout total of 215. In response, LSG lost Aiden Markram (9) early, but were back on track with a 42-run partnership between Mitchell Marsh (34) and Nicholas Pooran (27).

Coming in at No. 4, Pant managed to hit a four off the edge on the first ball, but his reverse sweep on the following delivery saw him get holed out at short third-man. Thereafter, LSG were all out for 161 and lost the game by 54 runs.

So far, Rishabh Pant has garnered only 110 runs in 10 games at an average of 12.22. On that note, let's take a look at the top expert reactions to the southpaw's dismal knock in the MI vs LSG game.

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#1 Harbhajan Singh

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh offered some advice to Rishabh Pant in a recent video on his YouTube channel. As per Harbhajan, Pant needs to bat longer to get back to form, while questioning his dismissal against MI. He said:

"The way the season is going on for Rishabh Pant, he needs to spend some time in the middle. He hit a four off his first ball off an edge, but he was dismissed while playing a reverse sweep, what was the need of that? He should have taken his time, and maybe the match result would have been better. Although, they wouldn't have won the game, it could have brought LSG closer to the target, Rishabh would have found his form as well." (4:17)

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#2 Anil Kumble

During an interaction on ESPNcricinfo, legendary spinner Anil Kumble opined that Rishabh Pant was trying hard to dictate terms early on in his innings, which was the key reason behind his early dismissal. He said:

"Rishabh Pant needs to just realize that if he bats normally, he will score at a faster pace. Then once he gets into that groove, he can dictate the term[s]. Maybe he's trying too hard to prove to everyone that, look, I can do this in this format. Sometimes that's counterproductive. You just need to relax, back yourself, believe that [you can do it], just go out there and then watch the ball. Maybe that's something that he's not doing."

As per Kumble, the high price tag is certainly putting Pant under pressure, and he suggested him to trust his skills. He added:

"There's a lot of expectations on him as a captain, as a leader and he was bought at the maximum price at the auction. All of these are probably going through his mind, and the last thing that you want is all of this. You want to shut all of that out, focus on the white ball that's coming out at him, and that's all he needs to do. He is extremely skillful, and just needs to trust himself."

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#3 Sanjay Bangar

In a post-match analysis on ESPNcricinfo, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar shared his thoughts on Rishabh Pant's disappointing form. He feels the LSG captain is getting dismissed while playing unconventional shots, rather than focusing on scoring runs straight down the ground, which clearly shows his lack of confidence.

Bangar said:

"When he's batting well, he's looking to hit a lot straighter. That way you also give yourself a chance to succeed. But some of the dismissals that have been seen so far in the season have been all him trying to play behind the wicket, maybe the reverse lap or the sweep in some instances."

He added:

"I think for a batsman to succeed, and if somebody's in that sort of a rut, you play percentages as well. So, try and hit straighter down the ground rather than target those areas behind the wicket."

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#4 Aakash Chopra

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra expressed his disappointment with Rishabh Pant's shot selections. He said:

"The biggest story is Rishabh Pant's. What are you doing? He hit a four off the first ball and then got out off the second ball while playing the reverse sweep again. All of us say that one shouldn't comment on the way Rishabh Pant gets out because he scores runs like that only." (8:45)

Although Chopra feels Pant came at the right batting position in this game, he opined that the keeper-batter doesn't look to be in a good mental space. He added:

"However, one has to comment if he doesn't score runs, and he hasn't scored runs this year. I say he is a generational talent, but he has been extremely ordinary this year. The one good thing he did was that he came to bat at No. 4, but it seems like he is not in the right mental space, from the batting point of view."

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#5 Shaun Pollock

During his mid-game analysis of LSG's innings, former South African pacer Shaun Pollock wondered why Pant had to go for a reverse sweep, despite the team catching up well with a required run rate. He said:

"I think the move was right [Pant at No. 4], but I am not too sure why he had to go for that reverse sweep at that stage, they were up with the rate. I suppose he just thought it was Will Jacks and he can take advantage of it. He will be sitting there, thinking maybe if I would have taken more time." (1:17)

Pollock added that Pant needed to understand his capability to damage the opposition and should focus on building his innings, saying:

"He is a better player than that and he doesn't have to go lights out to start. He can build his innings up and get really effective at the back end. We've seen how destructive he can be."