The legendary Ravichandran Ashwin urged Rishabh Pant to open in Lucknow Super Giants' remaining matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 after Wednesday's clash against Delhi Capitals at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium.
LSG threw in a surprise after losing the toss and being asked to bat first by Axar Patel as Pant walked out to open with Mitchell Marsh. He did hit a crisp boundary down the ground but his seven-run knock off nine balls ended in unfortunate circumstances as he was run-out at the non-striker's end after the ball ricocheted off Mukesh Kumar's hands on his follow-through and disturbed the stumps.
After the match, which the Capitals won by six wickets with 17 balls to spare, Pant stated that his opening the batting is not a certainty as things could change later in the season. However, Ashwin requested the Lucknow skipper and the management not to demote him down the order.
"It was very unfortunate the way Rishabh Pant got out, and even more unfortunate the way he talked after the match. He was asked whether he would open the innings, and he replied 50-50. I request you with folded hands, please open in every match. Justin Langer, or whoever is there in the LSG team management, should go and tell Rishabh Pant to go out there and play freely in the powerplay. Go and play the entire 14 games as an opener," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
"If he comes into bat after the powerplay, the bowlers have a strategy to stop him. So, I think he should open the batting, for himself and for LSG as well," he added.
Pant had a terrible campaign with the bat in IPL 2025 after being roped in by the Super Giants for a record-breaking INR 27 crore. In 14 matches, he managed just 269 runs at an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.17. This included a 118* in Lucknow's last game of the season. The 28-year-old will be hoping for a strong campaign in IPL 2026, which can pave the way for him into India's T20 squad.
