The sum of Rs 27 crore that Lucknow Super Giants spent on Rishabh Pant isn't looking good at the moment. The wicket-keeper batter has hardly gotten his bat to do the talking in the first three games for the franchise. Even his captaincy decisions have been questioned by many, with fans on social media already putting the label of a "Rs 27 crore flop" on the wicket-keeper batter. After LSG suffered their second defeat of the season, at the hands of Punjab Kings, the franchise's owner Sanjiv Goenka had an intense chat with Rishabh Pant again on the field.
Goenka has developed a reputation of asking questions to his team's captains. In the past even KL Rahul has had to face Goenka's wrath on the field over the team's defeats. Pant was subjected to a similar meeting after LSG's defeat against Delhi Capitals in their opening match of the season.
Lucknow then bounced back with a victory against the Sunrisers Hyderabad but slumped to a defeat against Punjab on Tuesday. Goenka didn't shy away from speaking with Pant again on the ground, triggering a social media storm. The LSG owner was even seen pointing finger at Pant during the conversation. However, they were smiling too.
After the game, Rishabh Pant admitted that his team was about 20-25 runs short against Punjab.
"It (the total) wasn't enough, we were 20-25 runs short, but that's part and parcel of the game. Still assessing the conditions at our home ground. It's always going to be difficult to get a big total when you lose early wickets, but each and every player is trying hard to take the game forward. The idea was to get a slow wicket. I think the slower balls were sticking in. We got to learn from this game and move forward. There are a lot of positives, can't say much," he said in the post-match presentation ceremony.