Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Sports

Rishabh Pant explodes at Zaheer Khan in LSG dugout, has animated chat; ‘I told you send me in early’: Suresh Raina

Published

Rishabh-Pant-explodes-at-Zaheer-Khan-in-LSG-dugout,-has-animated-chat;-‘I-told-you-send-me-in-early’-Suresh-Raina

Rishabh Pant was seen in the dugout moments after his dismissal, having an animated chat with former India pacer and current LSG mentor Zaheer Khan.

When Nicholas Pooran was dismissed in the 12th over against Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants’ score was 99 for 2. Everyone expected LSG captain Rishabh Pant to walk out but instead, it was Abdul Samad. Even the right and left-hand combination didn’t support this logic, as Pooran’s replacement should have been a left-hander. The surprises didn’t end there. Samad and Mitchell Marsh were dismissed in the next over by Mukesh Kumar as DC made a strong comeback but astonishingly, there was still no sign of Rishabh Pant. LSG chose to send David Miller and Ayush Badoni ahead of the dazzling left-hander, who hadn’t been in the best form in this IPL.

The LSG captain finally walked out to bat at No.7 with two balls left in the innings. He charged down the track to Mukesh Kumar and slogged without any contact with the ball. In the last ball of the innings, Mukesh bowled a low full toss at his legs, and Pant tried to reverse lap it over the keeper but ended up hitting it back to his stumps. That kind of day for LSG and Pant. Whatever they tried, it backfired.

As soon as the ball hit his stumps, Pant turned and fumed back to the pavilion. The frustration and anger were written all over his face. Was it because of his dismissal or coming out to bat so late? Former India cricketers Anil Kumble and Suresh Raina believed it was the latter as a visibly frustrated Pant exploded in the LSG dugout.

“It’s alright if you wanted to bat more freely under less pressure by coming in late but this was way too late. The kind of frustration Rishabh is showing is evident that he was wronged. He probably wanted to bat higher. Was it his decision? Or was it coach Justin Langer’s or maybe mentor Zaheer Khan‘s? Whose decision was it? Because he looked very frustrated,” Kumble said on Star Sports.

Pant’s animated chat with Zaheer Khan

Pant was seen having an animated chat with former India pacer and current LSG mentor Zaheer Khan in the dugout moments after his dismissal.

Interestingly, Pant’s first outburst at Zaheer came in the 19th over when he was all padded up, waiting in the dugout to come out to bat.

His reaction didn’t go unnoticed, as Suresh Raina said the discussion must have been about his batting position.

“20 overs are left. You have to keep wickets and captain the side. You have to make your side win. He is discussing that with Zaheer Khan. ‘I told you, send me in’,” Raina said.

Kumble said Pant should have channelled his frustration better instead of reacting like that, as he is the captain of the side.

“You have to make peace in these situations. He is the captain. He has to take it in a positive way. Whatever frustration or anger he has, he should translate that into positive performance,” said the former India captain.

It was a day for LSG and Pant to forget. They collapsed to 159/6 after an 87-run opening stand. In reply, DC batters KL Rahul and Abishek Proel smashed half-centuries to knock off the target in 17.5 overs.

After the match, Pant said they have to rethink their batting approach. “The idea was to capitalise. We sent Samad to capitalise on a wicket like that. After that, Miller came in and we just really got stuck in the wicket. Eventually, these are the things we’ve got to figure out and try to find our best combination going forward,” he said when asked about his batting position.

The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
In this article:

You May Also Like

World

Pakistan to discuss Extended Fund Facility with IMF next month, says Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb

Pakistan will discuss an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington next month, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on...

March 22, 2024

Business

Apple has an approved fix to get around the Watch ban. Customers may not like it

New York CNN — Apple has received approval to change the way its smartwatches function so the company can overcome the Apple Watch ban imposed by...

January 16, 2024

Science

ISRO successfully docks SpaDeX satellites in space, creates history

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday successfully completed the docking process of the SpaDeX satellites. “India docked its name in space history!...

January 16, 2025

Science

NASA Says There’s 3.1% Chance Of Asteroid Hitting Earth, New Simulation Shows Its Devastating Effect

The probability of a “city-killer” asteroid hitting Earth in 2032 just increased to 1 in 32, or 3.1%, according to NASA, and a chilling...

February 19, 2025