Why LSG should not have bid Rs 27 crore for Rishabh Pant

Time and again, Rishabh Pant has proved that he is simply not worth the hefty Rs 27 crore that LSG paid to bag him in the IPL 2025 mega auction. From earning Rs 16 crore in IPL 2024 to an Rs 11 cr jump in the next season, the southpaw simply hasn’t justified his price tag. In fact, there are multiple reasons why Pant didn’t deserve Rs 27 crore and instead LSG could have found someone better.

Why Pant isn’t worth Rs 27 crore

1. Miserable T20 form

Pant has a prolific record in T20s, which includes 5150 runs from 213 T20s. It includes 3412 runs in IPL from 122 matches. While he did manage to register 300+ runs in 7 consecutive seasons leading up to IPL 2025, he has simply failed this season. Pant has scored just 128 runs in 11 innings in IPL 2025, averaging 11.28 and boasting of a strike rate of 99.22.

In T20Is, he has amassed just 1209 runs from 76 matches, averaging 23.25. He was a part of the T20 World Cup in 2024, in which he made 171 runs in 8 innings, averaging 24.42. Considering his form in T20s off late, LSG could have simply bid a lesser amount for Pant rather than wasting Rs 27 crore.

Moreover, Pant returned to action after spending over a year on the sidelines due to an accident. He simplly hasn’t been the same as he was before the incident, and it has become more obvious with each passing game.

2. Not so great captaincy record

Rishabh doesn’t have much to prove in terms of captaincy records. He was appointed the captain of DC in 2021. Despite finishing at the top of the table, Pant & co. were defeated by CSK in the playoffs. In 2022, DC finished 5th on the points table with 7 wins from 14 games. He missed IPL 2023 due to the accident but made his comeback in 2024.

However, DC finished that season at the 6th position, once again winning just 7 out of 14 games. It went from bad to worse for Pant in IPL 2025, who after moving to LSG, has only managed to guide them to 5 victories in 11 matches so far.

3. Better middle-order batters

LSG had already retained Nicholas Pooran for Rs 21 crore, one of the highest retentions in the IPL. Yet, instead of making him captain, LSG decided to go for Pant instead by shelling out Rs 27 crore. They had multiple options, including Shreyas Iyer, who was released despite leading KKR to the title in 2024. In fact, Iyer was the second most expensive buy at the mega auction after PBKS paid Rs 26.75 crore. The result is quite obvious, as he is en route to leading PBKS to their maiden IPL title. Moreover, he has delivered consistently while batting at number 3 and in the middle order – something which Pant has failed to do so.

It is probably understood that the team did not want to bid for KL Rahul after releasing him ahead of the auction. However, he seems like a better choice for captain compared to Pant. More than captaincy, he is a better middle-order batter compared to the southpaw.

Besides, LSG had a lot of middle-order options to go for who are probably better than Pant. This includes Nehal Wadhera, Ashutosh Sharma, Tim David, Liam Livingstone among others.