IPL 2025 | Rishabh Pant’s ability and calibre are unquestionable: Zaheer

Lucknow Super Giants’ Rishabh Pant drives Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Royal Challengers Bengaluru during their IPL match at Ekana stadium, in Lucknow on Tuesday, May 27, 2025
| Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA

Lucknow Super Giants mentor Zaheer Khan said on Tuesday that captain Rishabh Pant’s latest IPL season with the bat was a learning experience for him, adding that his ability and calibre are unquestionable.

“He’s been good as a leader. That is something which was a bright positive for us throughout the season. The form with the bat definitely was something that was a learning experience for him as well, to have this kind of a season.

“But the ability and calibre are something no one has any doubt about. We are happy that he finished on a very strong note. That’s the impact he can have on the game,” he said after his team’s six-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the last league fixture of the ongoing IPL season.

Jitesh Sharma of Royal Challengers Bengaluru drives Shahbaz Ahmed of Lucknow Super Giants during their IPL match at Ekana stadium, in Lucknow on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
SANDEEP SAXENA

On the game plan he’d devised with captain Jitesh Sharma for their match-winning partnership, RCB’s Mayank Agarwal said: “I think we needed 90-odd in seven overs. We had a conversation saying that the wicket was good for playing fast bowling, and they had one over of Digvesh left. And so, if we can be calculative around that, it will be good. That was just a little bit of conversation that we had.

“But seeing Jitesh in his zone, and when somebody is batting like that, I believe that you don’t need to say much. If you can just give them the strike, and allow them to do what they can do, we all saw what’s the result of something like that.”