Former India captain believes Lucknow Super Giants ‘wronged’ Rishabh Pant

LUCKNOW: Former India captain Anil Kumble asserted that the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) management ‘wronged’ captain Rishabh Pant for sending him down the order in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday.

In a surprising move, the home side’s captain Pant walked out to bat at number seven after 19.4 overs with the scoreboard reading 159/5.

The left-handed batter failed to flourish lower down the order and was dismissed for a two-ball duck, falling victim to Mukesh Kumar on the final delivery of the innings.

Pant, visibly furious, stormed back to the dugout, fueling speculations of his discontent with the management’s decision.

Meanwhile, legendary spinner Kumble suggested that Pant’s reaction was a clear indication that he was wronged by the management.

"It's alright if you want to come in under less pressure, but this was way too late. The kind of frustration Rishabh is showing is evident that he was wronged,” said Kumble during the post-match discussion.

“He probably wanted to bat higher. Was it his decision? Or was it coach Justin Langer's? Or maybe mentor Zaheer Khan's? Whose decision was it? Because he looked very frustrated," he added.

After the match, Rishabh Pant tried to explain the tactical decision, stating that the hosts wanted to ‘capitalise’ by sending Abdul Samad into bat.

"The idea was to capitalise. We sent Samad to capitalise on a wicket like that. After that, Miller came in and we just really got stuck in the wicket. Eventually, these are the things we've got to figure out and try to find our best combination going forward," he said.