However, he stated that any decision will be made after consultation with management, not based on what others think.
Lucknow Super Giants’ newly elected captain Rishabh Pant has stated that he is open to the idea of opening the batting for the franchise in IPL 2025.
However, he stated that any decision will be made after consultation with management, not based on what others think.
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LSG paid INR 27 crore for Pant during the 2025 auction, making him the most expensive player in IPL history. The 27-year-old spent his entire IPL career with Delhi Capitals (DC), which he left before the auction. Pant is an aggressive middle-order batsman. He has only opened the innings four times in IPL, all in 2016. Pant’s senior role has not been ruled out as the final LSG team lacks an established opening batsman.
Pant to consider opening innings for LSG
Speaking to Sports Tak, LSG captain Rishabh Pant discusses the possibility of opening the batting in IPL 2025. According to him, there is no right decision yet because the idea is really tempting. He reflected on his success over the years in which he has played a middle-order role and the way he was used to performing that role. He made it clear that he would not make any decisions based on outside opinions but would take his time to consider what was best for the team and himself.
“Obviously, there is a temptation to go that route. [open the innings] but it is not 100 percent clear whether I should open or stay in the middle order. Because when you have played in the middle order for so many years and done well, God has been kind, so you get used to it. So I don’t want to take hasty decisions like ‘let’s do it because the external noise suggests so’,” Pant said.
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Pant seeks guidance from LSG mentors before ending role
Rishabh Pant said that cricket is his passion and his career, so he doesn’t want to make any sudden changes. He wants to take some time to think about it and discuss it with LSG mentor Zaheer Khan and head coach Justin Langer. Pant added that they will take a decision together and will fully support whatever they decide.
“For me, this is my life, this is my career and this is something I live for and I don’t want to change that overnight. I want to think about it some more, discuss it further with Zak bhai. [Zaheer Khan, LSG mentor] and justin [Langer, LSG head coach] about what we can do and, eventually, we will support any decision we make,” he added.
Pant has opened the innings only four times in his IPL career, all in 2016, where he scored 104 runs at an average of 34.7 and a strike rate of 136.8.
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