Rishabh Pant has had a dismal IPL batting campaign, amassing six single-figure scores for 110 runs in ten games.
Zaheer Khan, the coach of the Lucknow Super Giants, believes that although Rishabh Pant has been doing well as a captain, he needs to find a way to improve his batting performance in order to overcome a recent slump in IPL scoring. With his 63 against the Chennai Super Kings being the sole noteworthy effort, Pant has had a dismal run with the bat this IPL, amassing six single-digit scores for 110 runs in 10 games. In their 54-run loss on Sunday, the LSG captain Pant was dismissed for just four runs while attempting to reverse-sweep Will Jacks, the part-time spinner for the Mumbai Indians.
Pant, who was bought for an astounding Rs 27 crore, the most expensive buy in IPL auction history, is reportedly feeling the strain of the large paycheck, but Zaheer denied this.
“I wouldn’t associate it with that kind of thing. He is a leader, and I can attest to the fact that he has been an excellent leader,” Zaheer told the reporters following LSG’s defeat at Wankhede Stadium.
His efforts to ensure that every member of that group feels at ease, heard, and included in the planning of everything that happens during the IPL have been excellent.He is meeting all the requirements to be a leader. Since Rishabh is a batter, the middle order depends on him, and I have no doubt that he will make the impact we desire. Simply put, something has to click,” Zaheer remarked.
Pant’s high price tag, according to the former India bowler, won’t put any more strain on the team’s wicketkeeper-batter.
“I don’t think pressure is the cause of it. You’ve seen that he’s the type of person who believes that what happened in the previous game is part of the past and will happen again. He has a really positive and upbeat nature, so we just need to keep doing that,” he said.As captain, Pant will continue to play a key role for LSG, and the squad hopes the 27-year-old will get back to his best batting form, Zaheer reaffirmed.
“Winning the tournament is what you’re talking about when you talk about a team. There is no question about that since we have determined that Rishabh is the leader who will lead this squad to success,” Zaheer stated.Certain individuals will be able to hit form. It is inevitable for some players to have poor form; that is just the nature of the game. “We know that the pressure will be high in the back-end of the tournament now, so that’s the focus and it’s about finding that one innings, that is something for anyone,” he said.
According to Zaheer, the sixth-place LSG will try to make the most of their week off in order to return with more vigor and place in the last four. On May 4 in Dharamsala, LSG will play the Punjab Kings next.”We obviously discussed that topic. We will need to regroup and recuperate once we get in Dharamsala.
Since it will be cool outside, some of the guys are actually heading to Dharamshala; it’s simply a matter of enjoying some downtime. All of the teams have essentially done enough work, and we have done enough. Finding that spark and the people who will make the difference for the franchise is all that is required,” he continued.According to Zaheer, LSG will not want to depend on circumstances in which net run rate is relevant to determining playoff berths.
We are currently 10 games behind, with five victories and five losses. We are also not enjoying a very high net run rate. All we need to do is play good cricket and avoid depending on the net run rate. That’s something we must be mindful of,” he stated.
“You have to play some excellent cricket and respond to the circumstances if you want to win the tournament.” I have no doubt that if this group responds in that way, that is the atmosphere we have established.
