Aakash Chopra, a former cricketer and now a commentator, has told Rishabh Pant to stay strong during what he feels is a tough time in Pant’s career. Pant’s team, the Lucknow Super Giants, got knocked out of the IPL 2025 playoffs after losing to SunRisers Hyderabad by six wickets on May 19. In that match, Pant managed only 7 runs from 6 balls, adding to a rough patch for him.
As the most expensive player in IPL history, bought for around 27 crore, there were big expectations for Pant to step up after KL Rahul’s departure. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well, with the team losing all four of their last matches, leading to an early exit. Pant’s poor batting has played a major role in this, and he has the lowest strike rate among batters who faced over 100 balls this season. With just 135 runs in 135 balls, he’s really not meeting expectations.
The last six months have been tough for Pant, as he struggled to secure his place in India’s white-ball team and faced criticism for his Test performances. He hoped IPL 2025 would be his chance to prove himself, but that hasn’t happened.
Chopra mentioned on JioHotstar that this is a challenging time for Pant, but tough times can make someone stronger. He said, “Success teaches you some things, but failure gives you the lessons that really change your mindset. Pant has probably been thinking a lot about this season. He wanted this year to be special with the new team, but it hasn’t worked out as planned.”
Read Also:- IPL 2025 Points Table
He also added that when a player is going through a rough patch, everything can feel like it’s going wrong. “Nights feel long, days feel long, but you learn and bounce back. Everyone has had a tough time at some point; it’s part of the game,” Chopra noted.
After the loss to SRH, Pant mentioned that a shaky bowling attack contributed to their struggles and acknowledged that the team couldn’t build the momentum needed to reach the playoffs.
