However, he stated that any decision will be made after consulting with management, not based on what others think.
Lucknow Super Giants’ newly chosen captain, Rishabh Pant, has stated that he is open to the idea of opening the batting for the franchise in the IPL 2025.
However, he stated that any decision will be made after consulting with management, not based on what others think.
LSG paid INR 27 crores for Pant during the 2025 auction, making him the most expensive player in IPL history. The 27-year-old has spent his entire IPL career with Delhi Capitals (DC), which he left before the auction. Pant is an aggressive middle-order hitter. He has only opened the innings four times in IPL, all in 2016. Pant’s top order role has not been ruled out, as LSG’s final squad lacks an established opening batter.
Speaking to Sports Tak, LSG’s skipper, Rishabh Pant, discusses the possibility of opening the batting in IPL 2025. There is no proper decision yet according to him because the idea really tempts. He reflected about his success throughout the years where he has had a middle-order role and the way he was accustomed to play in that spot. He made it clear that he would not take any decision based on external opinions but would take his time to consider what was best for the team and himself.
“Obviously, there is a temptation to go that way [open the innings] but there is no 100 per cent clarity that should I open or stay in the middle order. Because when you have played in the middle order for so many years and have done well, God has been kind, so you get used to it. So I don’t want to make rash decisions like ‘let’s do it because the external noise is suggesting this’,” Pant said.
Also Read: Named in Squad, Can Yashasvi Jaiswal Find a Place in India’s Champions Trophy Playing XI?
Rishabh Pant said that cricket is his passion and career, so he does not want to make sudden changes. He wants to take time to think about it and discuss it with LSG mentor Zaheer Khan and head coach Justin Langer. Pant added that they will make a decision together and fully support whatever they decide.
“For me, this is my life, it’s my career and this is something I live for and I don’t want to change that overnight. I want to think over it a bit more, discuss it further with Zak bhai [Zaheer Khan, LSG mentor] and Justin [Langer, LSG head coach] about what we can do and eventually, we will back whatever decision we take,” he added.
Pant has opened the innings only four times in his IPL career, all in 2016, where he scored 104 runs at an average of 34.7 and a strike rate of 136.8.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
