Former coach of Lucknow Super Giants zaheer khan Has supported captain Rishabh Pant in the shortest format of the game. The great Indian fast bowler supported Pant, calling him one of the best T20 batsmen and hinted towards a century in IPL 2025.
Rishabh Pant is a true IPL veteran, as the 28-year-old star has scored 3500+ runs in the IPL and is often considered a generational talent. However, Pant has not been at his best after being bought by LSG for a huge price of Rs 27 crore.
Rishabh Pant finished last season with a brilliant century but failed to make a comeback this season despite being promoted to the opening batsman’s role. In this new season for Super Giants, Pant was run out after scoring just 7 runs.
LSG captain Zaheer Khan claimed, “He has an impact on the game in all formats.”
After another poor start to Rishabh Pant’s campaign in the IPL, doubts have been raised over his lack of batting form and a possible end to his career as a T20 batsman. Zaheer Khan has his own version of explanation for the veteran cricketer.
Zaheer Khan said, “It’s an interesting thing. For me, he is someone who has an impact on the game in all three formats. Yes, if you discuss it with statistics, he might not have the statistics to show right now, just for the last season, which was very bad.”
“But apart from that, he is ticking a lot of boxes in this format too. It’s just that the comparisons are being made with his extraordinary Test numbers.”
“People are expecting such figures or exceeding such expectations even in the T20 format. But he has been the fastest player to score 3,500 runs and has been doing it for 8-9 years; he has achieved a lot,” he said.
“He needs to be consistent in the position he is batting at” – Zaheer Khan
Zaheer recently dropped the required dominance Rishabh Pant Making a comeback in the shortest format of the game. He is out of the Indian T20 squad and has not had a good IPL either, but Zaheer feels that stability in his position could help the LSG skipper.
Zaheer claimed, “For T20 cricket, I think he needs to be consistent with the number he is batting at. Whether it is mainly the middle order or just the top order, the fact is that he can bat at any number and that is what makes it confusing.”
The former LSG coach also endorsed that he is not a typical star and is working very hard to contribute on the line that Rishabh Pant usually does in the format.
“For him, too, it’s about finding balance in his approach. He’s not a typical player; he’s an anomaly in terms of how he sees the game, likes to be aggressive, and likes to take possession of the game.
“In this format, generally, everyone is trying to do something extra. He is already doing a lot and besides that, he is trying to do it better,” he said.
Zaheer Khan supports Rishabh Pant and claims that he is trying
The former LSG coach also revealed that Rishabh Pant is practicing under the guidance of the former legendary Indian left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh. He supported him in this season and told that this season will be for him to achieve additional achievements.
“He spent some time with Yuvraj Singh recently. He is trying that, trying to understand exactly what formula will work for him in terms of putting those numbers together.
“You know, last season, everyone was saying that for most of the season, he was not able to push himself. But when he pushed himself towards the end of the tournament, he got a great century for himself. It’s just about repeating, he is the kind of player who is expecting two hundred, three hundred.
Zaheer Khan concluded, “He is a smart enough person to understand this and this season is going to be everything for him.”
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