Rishabh Pant was left disappointed once again after Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered another humiliating defeat, this time against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a Super Over. Chasing 156, LSG stayed in the contest for most of the innings but failed to finish the job, which stretched their losing run this season to five matches.
The situation has become even more worrying at home. Under Pant’s captaincy, LSG have now lost eight matches on the trot on their own ground. Since he was made captain last year after joining the franchise for a record fee, the team has struggled to find consistency, and results have not gone their way.
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Former India batter Wasim Jaffer believes LSG need to change in leadership to turn things around. He feels Aiden Markram should be given the captaincy and even shared the batting order he would prefer.
Apart from LSG, Pant is also going through a lean patch in his career. Over the last two seasons, he has scored 458 runs in 21 innings and has crossed fifty only three times. In the latest match, he scored 42 runs, but it was not enough to take LSG over the line as the match went into a Super Over.
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Jaffer reckons that captaincy duties may be stopping Pant from playing his natural attacking game. According to him, Pant performs best when he can focus solely on batting, without the added pressure of leading the team.
So far, LSG have lost 14 out of 22 matches under Pant’s leadership since last season. With the campaign slipping away, the franchise may soon need to make some tough decisions.