"You feel that he doesn't know his own role as a captain" - Mohammad Kaif on Rishabh Pant after LSG's IPL 2025 exit

Former India player Mohammad Kaif has opined that Rishabh Pant's lack of clarity about his position in the Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) batting order was primarily responsible for his underwhelming performances in IPL 2025. He urged the LSG skipper to decide his preferred batting position for IPL 2026 and build the team around that.

Pant managed only seven runs off six deliveries as LSG set the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) a 206-run target in Match 61 of IPL 2025 in Lucknow on Monday, May 19. The visitors achieved the target with six wickets and 10 deliveries to spare to knock the home team out of the playoff race.

During a discussion on the Star Sports show 'Match Point', Kaif replied in the affirmative when asked whether Rishabh Pant's lean run in IPL 2025 can be attributed to the uncertainty surrounding his batting position.

"If you have to prepare for next year, you have to decide your batting number as a captain. It should remain the same from the first to the last match, and it shouldn't change. Whether you want to play at No. 3 or No. 4, you should build the team around that and play players accordingly," he said.

"However, now I saw him not coming to bat at times, and trying to do almost the entire job as a captain on other occasions. Then you feel that he doesn't know his own role as a captain. A year can go bad, many people go out of form, but the learning is that you should stick to one number," the former India batter added.

Rishabh Pant has managed 135 runs at an average of 12.27 and a strike rate of 100.00 in 11 innings in IPL 2025. The wicketkeeper-batter has predominantly batted at No. 4, although he even demoted himself further down the order in one game, opened in another match, and played at No. 3 on Monday.

---

"It doesn't seem like Pant came at all in this IPL" - Ajay Jadeja on Rishabh Pant's batting in IPL 2025

Rishabh Pant's 63-run knock against CSK has been his only half-century in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same discussion, Ajay Jadeja was asked about Rishabh Pant's performance as a batter and captain in IPL 2025.

"As a batter, the entire Pant seemed to be missing. It doesn't seem like Pant came at all in this IPL. There was a small knock against Chennai, which you won't even count," he responded.

However, the former India opener opined that the LSG skipper led his side well.

"As a captain, when you didn't score and half the bowlers you picked in the auction weren't available for half the season, and the retained tried-and-tested (Ravi) Bishnoi had to be dropped by the end of the season and then conceded 26 runs in an over, and despite that, you kept this team in the playoff race with two matches to go, I believe he did an excellent job," Jadeja reasoned.

With 10 points from 12 games, LSG are placed seventh on the IPL 2025 points table. They would have had a chance to qualify for the playoffs had they won Monday's game and their remaining two league matches, but the loss against SRH ended those hopes.