Rishabh Pant Gets Brutal Reality Check From Ex-BCCI Selector After Shreyas, Patidar's Rise

Rishabh Pant in IPL 2026 [Source: AFP]

Rishabh Pant registered yet another batting failure this IPL 2026, this time against the Rajasthan Royals in Lucknow on Wednesday, April 22. Leading the LSG franchise in match number 32 of the tournament, the blistering left-handed batter was dismissed for a three-ball duck by Royals quick Nandre Burger in just the second over of the run chase.

Pant’s dismal outing factored in LSG’s humiliating 40-run defeat, which also marked their fourth straight loss this tournament to fall to the brink of a certain elimination from the playoffs race.

Amidst Rishabh Pant’s repeated struggles with the bat, former Indian cricketer and ex-BCCI selector Saba Karim has claimed that the experienced wicketkeeper-batter is yet to crack the shortest format of the game.

Saba Karim says Pant yet to match Shreyas Iyer or Rajat Patidar in T20s

While speaking on ESPNCricinfo after the match, former India selector Saba Karim urged struggling LSG skipper Rishabh Pant to figure out a successful T20 template for himself. The ex-cricketer added that the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar have both figured out their batting styles, as evidenced by their prolific form with the bat for their respective franchises in IPL 2026.

Also Read- Watch- Rishabh Pant Channels Inner ‘Spider-Man’ To Leave Yashasvi Jaiswal In Shock

Saba Karim said “A modern T20 batter has to find his own template. For instance, whether it is Shreyas Iyer or Rajat Patidar, even if Rajat Patidar goes in to bat on a track like this, I am sure he's got his clarity in his mind that he will go and play the big shots, and he is confident of doing so.”

Karim added that Pant also seems to struggle in ODI cricket for Team India, considering the senior stumper has not played a single 50-overs match for the country in nearly two years. The former selector further claimed that the 28-year-old only seems transparent in his thought process while playing Test match cricket.

He claimed “Rishabh Pant's problem lies in the fact that he's yet to find his template for white-ball cricket. And not only talking about T20, even ODIs. And Test-match batting for him, I think there is more transparency in his thought process the way he prepares. I think somehow in white-ball cricket he is yet to find that.”

Rishabh Pant yet to justify his multi-million price tag for LSG

Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the history of the IPL last year when he was acquired by the LSG franchise for a sum of Rs. 27 crores (US$3.2 million). However, the cricketer aggregated just 269 runs in 13 innings of the IPL 2025 season at a below par average of 24.45. Moreover, Pant listed 118* of those runs in a single game towards the fag end of the season.

Even in the ongoing IPL 2026 season as LSG skipper, Pant has aggregated only 147 runs in seven innings at an average of 24.50. In his seven appearances, the left-hander failed to cross the 20-run mark on five occasions.

A tough road ahead for Rishabh Pant’s LSG

Following LSG’s latest defeat against the Rajasthan Royals, the franchise has now slipped to number nine on the IPL 2026 points table with mere two wins from seven games. In a bid to qualify for the playoffs, the LSG need to win six of its remaining seven matches.

Any hiccup going forward will result in a certain elimination for the Pant-led franchise.

Also Read- T20 Mumbai League 2026: Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer Locked; Jaiswal Finds New Home