Rishabh Pant has had an underwhelming season with his new franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who purchased him for record price at the IPL auction held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last year. The southpaw was acquired by LSG for a whopping Rs 27 crore, making him the most expensive player in the history of the tournament.
Despite the massive price tag, Pant not only failed to meet expectations but has failed drastically in his new franchise. He often appeared to be feeling the pressure of the price tag and managed just 135 runs in 11 innings at an average of 12.27. Renowned for hitting long sixes, Pant has only managed to send the ball over the boundary ropes six times, which speaks a lot about his form.
Meanwhile, in terms of captaincy too LSG have thrown away matches from winning situation, the classic case being the one against Delhi Capitals which took place in the initial phase of the season. All these led to LSG failing to qualify for the playoffs and the team have endured seven losses in the twelve matches so far in this edition.
With the decline in form, social media was flooded with posts criticising Pant. However, Pant took note of one, which claimed that the LSG management is "most likely to release" him ahead of the next edition. It added that the management feels Rs 27 crore is too much for the player.
Responding to the same, the wicketkeeper-batter wrote: "I understand fake News gives more traction to content but let’s not build everything around it. Little sense and credible news will help more rather making fake news with agenda. Thanks have a good day. Let’s be responsible and sensible what we put out on social media."
Pant and Co. will be locking horns with table toppers Gujarat Titans at the IPL encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday evening.
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