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A moment of awkwardness between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant and Ian Bishop during the toss of the Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants (RR vs LSG) match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
After the toss, Ian Bishop was having a formal conversation with both the captains. LSG’s Rishabh Pant was the second player to discuss his team’s strategy for the match as he lost the toss to Rajasthan Royals stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Ian Bishop asked Rishabh Pant to explain the reason for Mohammed Shami’s absence.
During the conversation, Bishop asked about changes made to tonight’s game. Pant started the reply well by mentioning the absence of Aiden Markram due to a personal issue. A strange moment came to light when it came to the absence of Mohammed Shami.
Rishabh Pant told that Mohsin Khan will take the field in place of Mohammed Shami. For obvious reasons, Ian Bishop asked the reason behind Shami’s absence. After that, the conversation turned into banter and never became as normal as it should have been.
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Watch the conversation between Rishabh Pant and Ian Bishop here:
Toss time:
Pant: Shami is not playing, Mohsin is playing
Bishop: What is the problem with Shami?
Pant: Yes
Bishop: What is the problem with Shami?
Pant: Mohsin
Bishop: No, what is Shami’s problem?
*Pant making a surprised face*
Bishop: Who’s out?
Pant: Shami is out,… pic.twitter.com/P70sEgjcaH
– Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) 19 May 2026
LSG has nothing to lose in this match
LSG have nothing to lose from the match; They can play freely without any extra pressure, as they are already out of the ongoing title race. But, despite the poor performance in the current season, they have performed well against some of the big teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians.
RR team management knows very well that if LSG plays to their true potential, they can overtake them too. Another defeat at such a crucial juncture of the group stage can prove to be a problem for Rajasthan Royals. Therefore, they have to cross the obstacle at any cost tonight.
Rishabh Pant looked confident while describing the strategy
After the toss, Rishabh Pant’s body language looked very confident and this was also reflected in his words. The Lucknow Super Giants captain said that he was confident about this match. He vowed to display top class cricket for his fans.
“We are quite confident, we know it is a good wicket to bat on. Will be happy to bat or bowl first. Of course, as I said in the last few games, we have a lot to play for. As a team, we take pride and confidence in playing every match for our fans. At the same time, we want to give our best performance because we know we have a good team and we can do it,” Pant said.
He said, “Aiden (Markram) is not there because he has gone home due to personal reasons. And just one more thing, Shami is not playing and Mohsin is playing. Badoni has come in place of Aiden.”
Read more: Why are Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja not playing today’s match against LSG?


