Rishabh Pant, captaining the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025, came under heavy fire on social media after his puzzling decision to bat at No. 7 during his side’s eight-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
Pant, usually a top-order mainstay, stunned fans and experts alike by walking in to bat only in the final over of the innings, eventually falling for a two-ball duck.
This was the first time in nine years that Pant batted as low as No. 7 in a T20 match—the last instance coming way back in IPL 2016.
As uncapped players Abdul Samad and Ayush Badoni were promoted ahead of him, the move sparked outrage.
Even former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson, on commentary, couldn’t hide his disbelief.
“I am gobsmacked, bewildered and whatnot. Whatever word you want to use. I cannot make sense of why Rishabh Pant is not here batting,” he said.
Social media, however, was far less forgiving. Fans slammed Pant for ‘hiding’ behind junior players during a crunch match and accused him of lacking accountability. Memes, angry tweets, and sarcastic jabs poured in, with some calling him a ‘fraud’ and others even demanding he return the Rs 27 crore paid by the franchise.
Amid the criticism, images from the dugout revealed Pant’s right hand was heavily bandaged, hinting at a possible injury—something fans noticed during the toss as well. However, the lack of clarity from the team and Pant’s post-match explanation only added fuel to the fire.
“The idea was to capitalise. We sent someone to try and take advantage of the wicket. Then Miller came in, and we just got stuck. But these are things we have to figure out as we look for our best combination,” Pant said after the match.
With just 106 runs in nine innings at a dismal average of 13.25 this season, Pant’s underwhelming form has become a major talking point for LSG. And unless things turn around soon, the backlash is unlikely to stop.
