‘That’s why Sunil Gavaskar got upset...’: Rishabh Pant pummeled for ‘unconventional’ cricket, told to ‘learn from Kohli’

Lucknow Super Giants bounced back to winning ways on Saturday after beating Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, but captain Rishabh Pant’s poor run of form continued after he was dismissed for just three runs off nine balls. He managed just 106 runs in eight matches in the ongoing IPL 2025 season, at just 15.14, as former India batter Manoj Tiwary lashed out at the LSG skipper for his “unconventional” batting.

Pant survived an lbw scare on the first ball he faced, and then took three more deliveries to get off the mark, before he was bamboozled by Wanindu Hasaranga when he attempted an audacious reverse sweep. The ball took the top edge before wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel collected it comfortably. Pant departed for his fourth single-digit score in IPL this season.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Tiwary questioned the logic behind Pant’s short selection as he said that it was the same reason why Sunil Gavaskar had scolded him on air during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series earlier this year.

He said: "Rishabh Pant is that kind of player — he is brimming with talent. There is no need for him to go and play a reverse sweep right away, yet he does it. That’s why Sunil Gavaskar got upset during the Test match in the Border-Gavaskar series. Even he knows that Pant has so much ability that he can score runs with straight-bat cricket. So why doesn’t he do that? Why does he go for the unconventional?"

Pant told to ‘learn from Kohli’

Tiwary felt Pant should take a leaf out of Virat Kohli’s book and approach the white-ball format in a more composed manner.

"If he has to learn from someone, it should be Virat Kohli. When Kohli came into international cricket, he didn’t play at a strike rate of 100 in the 50-over format. He took his time — scored 7 runs in 10 balls, sometimes just 5 in 10 balls — but he kept building his innings. That’s what Pant needs to do now — take a little time. It may not seem like it when you watch with your eyes that it's a 20-over match, so you feel like you need to go bang-bang and finish it off quickly. But there are 120 balls in a T20 innings," Tiwary explained.

LSG will next be in action against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday at home.