Price Tag Pressure on Rishabh Pant?
The flamboyant player hasn’t had a great IPL season so far. Worse still, in the last match he looked visibly annoyed in the dugout, there are rumours of him having had a heated conversation with Zaheer Khan
Cricketer Rishabh Pant, captain of the IPL team Lucknow Super Giants, was the season’s most expensive buy at a staggering `27 crore. He’s now under a glaring spotlight — for all the wrong reasons. In Delhi Capitals’ recent face-off against Lucknow Super Giants, Pant’s puzzling decision to bat at No. 7 raised more than a few eyebrows. Walking in during the final over, he faced just two deliveries before heading back to the pavilion — out for a duck. He looked visibly annoyed. His numbers this season? A dismal 106 runs from 9 innings, averaging a mere 13.25.
But it wasn’t just his form that drew attention. Eyewitnesses — and sharp-eyed cameras — captured Pant visibly agitated in the dugout, reportedly after a heated exchange. His animated conversation with assistant coach Zaheer Khan post-dismissal quickly became fodder for speculation, with former cricketers like Anil Kumble and Suresh Raina commenting on the optics of internal discord mid-match.
Harbhajan Singh noted Pant’s unusually subdued body language, saying, “He didn’t seem himself at all. It’s tough to lead or even play effectively when you’re carrying that kind of emotional baggage.” For fans used to Pant’s flamboyance and fire, this subdued, tense version is unfamiliar — and unsettling.
The IPL, with its glamour and scrutiny, has seen many big-ticket players buckle under expectation. Even icons like MS Dhoni have faced similar questions when the runs didn’t flow.
