Wankhede Stadium mein Mumbai Indians ne Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ko 54 runs se hara diya, jahan Rishabh Pant ek baar phir flop rahe. No.4 par batting karte hue unka score single digit tak simit raha, Will Jacks ke haathon wo jaldi out ho gaye.
Pura season mein ab tak Pant sirf ek half-century hi bana paye hain, jiske baad unki form par sawaal uth rahe hain. Lekin LSG ke mentor Zaheer Khan ne Pant ka pura saath diya hai aur bola hai ki price tag ka unki performance se koi lena dena nahi hai.
“Main isey ₹27 crore ke tag se relate nahi karta. Rishabh ek leader hain aur unhone leadership mein kamaal ka kaam kiya hai, main is baat ka guarantee leta hoon,” – Zaheer Khan
Zaheer ne bataya ki Pant apne teammates ko sunte hain, unka khayal rakhte hain, aur planning mein bhi top level ke inputs dete hain. Unhone Pant ke leadership style ki tareef ki:
“Wo har player ko comfortable feel karwate hain. IPL jaise tournament mein planning bohot important hoti hai, aur isme Rishabh ne koi kasar nahi chhodi.”
“Leadership mein wo sab boxes tick kar rahe hain. Batting mein middle-order un par depend karta hai aur mujhe pura vishwas hai ki wo impact inning zarur khelenge. Bas ek click ki der hai.”
Delhi Capitals ke khilaaf match mein Pant ne no.7 par aakar 2-ball duck mara tha. Lekin Zaheer ne is incident ko zyada serious nahi liya:
“Pressure ka sawal hi nahi hai. Rishabh ek positive aur optimistic personality hain. Pichla match gaya so gaya, ab humein aage dekhna hai.”
Zaheer ka kehna hai ki jab team playoffs ke liye fight kar rahi ho, tab pressure sab par hota hai. Lekin ek hi inning kisi bhi player ki form badal sakti hai:
“Jab aap tournament jeetne ki baat karte ho, toh ek leader chahiye hota hai. Humne Rishabh ko woh leader identify kiya hai.”
“Kuch log form mein honge, kuch nahi – ye game ka part hai.”
“Back-end mein pressure high hoga. Humein ek match chahiye jo flow badal de, aur wahi Rishabh bhi kar sakte hain.”
Ab tak IPL 2025 mein Pant ne 10 innings mein 110 runs banaye hain with an average of 12.22 aur strike rate of 98.21. Unka best performance CSK ke khilaaf aya tha, lekin wo bhi team ke kaam nahi aya.
LSG filhal points table mein 6th position par hai – 10 matches mein 5 wins aur 5 losses ke saath. Net Run Rate (NRR) bhi ab negative ho gaya hai. Ab unka next match 4 May ko hoga against Punjab Kings at Dharamsala.
