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"Give Up Wicket-Keeping" Australian Great's Unique Advice For Struggling Rishabh Pant

Soumyajit Dutta

Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X]Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X]

IPL 2025's most expensive buy, Rishabh Pant is having a hard time navigating this season. LSG's skipper and wicketkeeper-batter is amidst all things wrong with this IPL season being his poorest form of all since his debut in 2016. 

Managing only 128 runs in his 11 innings and averaging at 12.80, Rishabh Pant was also advised by Ex-KKR star and former Australian cricketer Aaron Finch to give up his keeping gloves.

Finch's Advice To Take the Gloves Off Pant to Free Him Up

While the claim of Aaron seems a bit too harsh for the new LSG skipper, the Aussie cricketer backed his statement with reasons.

“It’s probably very tough to lead a team while also keeping wickets. You only get a few seconds to talk to your bowlers, maybe 10 to 15 seconds between overs, especially with the over-rate clock running. That means someone like Nicholas Pooran, who’s usually positioned in front of the stumps, has to help pass on messages," Finch said on JioHotstar.

"It’s challenging to stick to a single plan since both the bowler and Rishabh might be changing their minds from ball to ball. You can see how emotional and frustrated he looks throughout the game,” Finch added.

Finch suggested that it might be a good idea for Pant to let Nicholas Pooran take over the wicketkeeping duties for a game or two so he can focus on improving his rhythm and communication with the bowlers.

“Maybe it’s a chance for him (Pant) to say, ‘Pooran, you handle the gloves for a match or two. I need to regain some rhythm and better connect with the bowling unit, so we can plan and manage the middle overs more effectively.’ Communication can be really tough when you're standing behind the stumps.” Finch said.

Finch Advices Better Communication

Finch added that the game has evolved significantly, becoming much quicker, where even a couple of deliveries can completely shift the momentum. He emphasized the need for constant communication with bowlers.

“But the game’s evolved quite a bit since then, I think. Everything moves much quicker now. Just a couple of deliveries can completely shift the momentum, so having regular communication with your bowler is crucial. You’ll often see Shreyas Iyer at mid-off, Shubman Gill at mid-on – there’s always someone nearby,” Finch concluded.

LSG Need To Bounce Back

Nevertheless, under Pant's captaincy, LSG also faces the threat of elimination after 11 games. The team managed to pack 5 wins with 10 points to their name. With the playoff fight getting more intense, Lucknow will now aim to bag all 3 remaining games to run for their chances. 

Lucknow faces RCB next on May 9 at their home ground in Ekana and will aim to defeat this season's giant who are sitting at the top with 8 wins out of 11 under their belts.