Rishabh Pant may be enduring a forgettable IPL 2025 with the bat, but Lucknow Super Giants spin bowling all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed is confident that the "chilled and relaxed" captain will come good in clutch moments.
Pant, the costliest player in the IPL history at Rs 27 crore, has managed just 19 runs -- 0, 15, 2, 2 -- from four innings at a grim average of 4.75 and a massively underwhelming strike-rate of 59.37.
But there is no panic within the LSG camp.
"There is no change in his mood. As always, he is chilled and relaxed. He is working very hard on his batting, and we believe that when crunch time comes, Rishabh Pant will score runs and win matches for us," Shahbaz said on the eve of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Eden Gardens surface has been under the spotlight after KKR's captain Ajinkya Rahane and coach Chandrakant Pandit expressed their disappointment over the pitch not aiding spinners in their opening match loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Shahbaz, who represents Bengal in domestic cricket, believes that the current pitch will offer some help to spinners.
"In domestic cricket, we mostly play red-ball matches here and those wickets are completely different. They assist pacers a lot," he said.
"But this wicket looks slower. I don't think it will turn much, but the ball may stop a bit. It will be good for bowlers, especially spinners. Compared to Lucknow, it's a small ground here, so there are runs on offer too," he added.
Shahbaz is not surprised that the pitch has been prepared with KKR's spin-heavy attack in mind, featuring Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.
"It's not surprising. For the last 2-3 years, this type of wicket has been made here because Narine and Varun are their key bowlers. It helps them. In Ranji Trophy, it's different -- it aids pacers -- but here it's spin-friendly," he explained.
Mayank on road to recovery
LSG's preparations were hit by injuries to four key pacers -- Mayank Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohsin Khan, and Avesh Khan. However, Shahbaz provided an encouraging update.
"There was concern when four of our bowlers were unavailable. But the new bowlers like Prince Yadav and the experienced Shardul Thakur have stepped up."
"Akash Deep and Avesh Khan are fully fit now, and Mayank Yadav is on the road to recovery. Hopefully, he will be available soon," he said.
Caution for Rathi
Digvijay Rathi has been a standout performer for LSG, earning the Player-of-the-Match award for his economical spell of 1/21 against Mumbai Indians.
However, his on-field 'notebook' signing celebration has landed him in trouble.
Rathi has already been fined twice -- once for physical contact with PBKS batter Priyansh Arya and again after the MI game for his controversial celebration. He now sits on three demerit points -- one away from one-match suspension.
Asked about the celebration, Shahbaz said: "Priyansh Arya is a very good friend of his. On TV, it might look different, but it was done in a friendly way. I hope he doesn't repeat it. But it's his first season -- these things happen."
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