LSG told to 'do something about Rishabh Pant' after Sanjiv Goenka confrontation: 'He's been a huge shock for this team'

When Lucknow Super Giants spent a fortune in acquiring Rishabh Pant at the IPL 2025 mega-auction, making him the most expensive purchase in history at ₹27.5 crore, expectations were huge. LSG, one of the two new franchises introduced ahead of the 2022 season, had done reasonably well in the first two years. With Gautam Gambhir as mentor, they qualified for the Playoffs in 2022 and 2023 after finishing third on the points table. However, things took a turn for the worse in 2024 when LSG were stranded on seventh. Hence, with Pant's purchase, the franchise intended to usher in a new direction. Rishabh Pant has yet to get going in IPL 2025(AP)

Or so it thought. With two defeats in three matches, Lucknow are already under fire, with Pant bearing the brunt. The LSG captain's consecutive failures in IPL 2025 – 0, 15 and 2 against Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings – already seems to have triggered panic. How else can one explain the tense conversation which took place between the captain and owner Sanjiv Goenka after LSG's 8-wicket-defeat to Punjab Kings.

In an eye-opening suggestion, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has suggested LSG come up with a solution as soon as possible to fix their Pant conundrum. Pant's T20 numbers, even outside the IPL, have been concerning, with Harbhajan calling it a 'huge shock' for the team. "Rishabh Pant wasn't able to do much. His bat has been quiet. They will have to do something about him getting out early. He has been a big shock for the team," he said on his YouTube channel.

LSG had little chance to defend 171, says Harbhajan

Harbhajan reckons LSG lost the plot the moment they lost the plot… and rightly so. Barring Nicholas Pooran's 44 and Ayush Badoni's 41, LSG batters couldn't muster much courage. Arshdeep Singh knocked the stuffing out of them with a three-wicket haul to restrict LSG to 171/7, a total PBKS chased down without breaking a sweat. Half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer, Prabhsimran Singh, and Nehal Wadhera's unbeaten 43 took Punjab over the line to make it two in two for the 2014 IPL runner-up.

"LSG got stuck. After losing the toss, they didn't score much runs and disappointed themselves. Nicholas Pooran played brilliant but he was trapped by Yuzvendra Chahal. So when Pooran got out, LSG's back was pretty much broken. Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad provided some fireworks towards the end got them to a total, which was worth fighting for but very tough to defend given just how strong Punjab's batting is," added Harbhajan.

Lastly, Harbhajan likes what he sees of Punjab's early impressions in the IPL. One of the only three teams from the original 8 to have never won the IPL, Bhajji has a feeling that this year could be special with someone like Ricky Ponting at the helm of things.

"To bet Lucknow in Lucknow shows they've played brilliant cricket. Punjab is finally resembling a team, a unit that is fighting. This team is showing traits of going all the way. Ricky Ponting has motivated the youngsters only he can," he said.

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