Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant's comments after their thrilling Super Over defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders have raised numerous questions.
In a heartbreaking thriller at Ekana Stadium on Sunday (April 26), Lucknow Super Giants fought back valiantly to force a Super Over against KKR after both teams tied at 155. Mohammed Shami's last-ball six sparked wild celebrations, giving hope of ending a five-match losing streak.
However, in the Super Over, LSG managed just 1 run as Sunil Narine struck twice early. Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram couldn't deliver despite the trust placed in them. KKR chased the target in just one ball via Rinku Singh's boundary.
With five straight defeats, LSG now sit at the bottom of the points table
and are looking out of ideas. Amid this, a comment from Pant at the post-match interview has raised suspicions over the atmosphere within the team and the freedom of the captain and coaches.
KKR scored 155 runs, thanks to a 26-run 20th over which was bowled by Digvesh Rathi. Speaking on the thought process to give the final over to a spinner, Rishabh said, "See, there are always times in cricket where you can turn a little bit of bowling at the same time. But sometimes bowlers have to bowl those hard overs. "
"And there will be time when I have to give him that in middle overs because I was looking for a wicket. I just didn't get one. That was the thought process behind it. And too many minds doesn't make it easy on the ground," he added.
Is Rishabh Pant taking a dig at LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka?
Sanjiv Goenka has been known for his involvement in the field, which was evident in that notorious dressing down of KL Rahul. But Pant may have a different direction to it. As per South Africa legend Shaun Pollock, he has definitely directed it to the star-studded coaching staff of LSG.
They have former Australia player Justin Langer as head coach, along with Lance Klusner as assistant and Bharat Arun as bowling coach. Former New Zealand player Kane Williamson is appointed as strategic advisor, while another Aussie Tom Moody is the Director of Cricket.
"It's not really good that it is coming from the captain because he is basically saying there are too many people giving me information, and he is kind of under the bus-ing the management group that they have got. Maybe we don't know how it works, that's the problem. You don't know who has the final call, you don't know who sits with him and gives him the understanding of what they feel and has the discussions with him," Pollock was quoted as saying by The Indian Express on Cricbuzz.
For the Lucknow fans, the time continues to be turbulent as they have found no rhythm so far in this season. Despite decent bowling performances, their batters have often let them down so far this season.
