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Cricket PlayersWho calls the shot in LSG? Rishabh Pant's no-show with the bat vs CSK opens up debate: ‘I was ready to bat but…’
In a victorious match against Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants' Rishabh Pant's decision to refrain from batting drew attention.
Lucknow Super Giants finally had a night where their cricket looked clean. They beat Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets, chased 188 inside 7 overs, and found enough authority through Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis and Nicholas Pooran to finish a difficult season with some pride.
Yet, after the match, Rishabh Pant’s explanation for not batting became the sharper story.
Pant did not come out even after LSG had lost three wickets following a huge opening stand. Pooran walked in after the fall of the wicket, followed by Abdul Samad, and then Mukul Choudhary took the crease at the fall of the third wicket. Pant, the captain and the most expensive player in the tournament, stayed back.
A captain ready, a call made elsewhere
His own explanation made the call even more revealing. “I was ready to bat in, but the idea came in like, why not try players who have not got much chances. I was thinking again and again, should I go or not? Sometimes you need to respect the things from the think tank,” Pant said during the post-match chat.
The line carried more weight than a normal post-match clarification. Pant did not say he was injured or that the match-up demanded a different batter. He did not state that it was his decision. He said he was ready. He said he was thinking about walking out to bat, but then pointed towards the “think tank”.
Across the season, Rishabh Pant has often looked like a captain operating inside a crowded decision-making room. LSG has not lacked ideas; in fact, they have had too many. They have changed their batting order and overseas combination, and, in fact, the use of Pant has remained uncertain. At different points, he has batted high, been protected, been pushed into difficult match situations, and now, against CSK, held back when he was ready.
A captain usually owns the tactical call in public. Pant has done that partly, but his words also suggested that LSG’s decisions did not flow solely from one man in the middle. The franchise has always carried the image of a highly involved setup, where leadership is not limited to the person wearing the captain’s armband. Coaches, analysts, senior voices, and decision-makers across the team all shape the direction.
There is nothing unusual about a modern IPL side operating that way. But when a season goes wrong, layers decision making can start looking like divided authority. Pant’s line hinted at that tension. LSG won the match, but the captain still had to explain why he did not bat. He was ready, unsure, and ultimately deferential. For a side already out of playoff contention, the experiment may have been defensible. For Pant, it left behind a more uncomfortable question. Was he leading the decision, or only respecting it?
