Pant, the devaluation of LSG's prime asset

Breaking down professional sport is best left to experts, but occasionally, their take leaves ordinary fans dissatisfied with the answers.

- Amrit Mathur

Rishabh Pant's role during Lucknow Super Giants' loss to Delhi Capitals is one such instance. Batting first, his team was in a spot of bother with wickets falling at regular intervals. Captain Pant was all set for action—padded up, hand taped with plaster, willow in hand. Yet, to the utter surprise of everyone, he chose the safety of the dugout instead of striding out to the middle to take on the opposition.

The reluctance (or at least it looked like that) to step up and get into battle was like a soldier refusing to take up arms. Why was Rishabh stuck to the dugout? Was this some kind of batting googly, a smart strategic master stroke, or simple dereliction of duty?

If asked to explain this shocking absence, the likely answer from experts would be: Good question! Which, translated into simple words, means I don't know.

The LSG coaches, think tank, and team management will surely justify what happened, but Pant's missing from action does not add up.

What we know is this: Pant was held back because, given the match situation, Abdul Samad, David Miller, and Ayush Badoni (the impact player) were presumably better suited to get the job done.