Fresh vote of confidence given to Rishabh Pant's captaincy

Sanjiv Goenka apologized for the delay, but even before officially introducing Pant as the new captain to the media, a comment from the owner of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suggesting that the explosive wicketkeeper-batter could be one of the best leaders in the IPL had already surfaced on X. It came as no surprise that LSG would name Pant as their captain, especially after shelling out an IPL record ₹27 crore, nearly 14 times his base price, in a bidding war involving four teams, including a right-to-match offer. Therefore, Monday's event was simply a formality to confirm Pant's new role as captain.

“We start with new aspirations, new hope and, most importantly, new confidence,” said Goenka before presenting Pant his LSG shirt. Cue, cameras and mobile phones kicking into overdrive with the request that owner and skipper face them which meant the duo having to look left, right and centre. Thanking the management for “showing the faith”, Pant, 27, promised to give “200%”. Looking forward to a new beginning with new energy, he said. “Have a blast out there.”

LSG mentor Zaheer Khan said Pant looks “at the game differently” and it is “commendable” that he inspires a “new style of play”. Khan promised fearless and exciting cricket and said the team would be one to look up to in the coming years.

Pant will need to amalgamate everything the former India fast bowling great said if he and LSG are to win their first IPL. LSG have been in the Eliminators twice but not made the final, and Pant has been a losing finalist with Delhi Capitals. “We haven’t been where we want to be,” he said. With a squad that he said has a mix of youth and experience, Pant said he was hopeful this collaboration would change that.

Captaincy, Brendon McCullum has said, come with a certain amount of criticism. “Some people don’t like Mother Teresa as well,” according to the England coach. Pant knows this because he has been in IPL since 2016 and captaincy is not new to him. But if the job at Delhi Capitals came by chance after Shreyas Iyer was injured in 2021, this is by design.

Which could mean greater responsibility. How will it sit on the man known for making the audacious look ordinary but one whose shot selection in Australia copped a fair amount of criticism?

Also, for the batter who doesn’t blink playing a falling scoop to Pat Cummins and a reverse scoop to Jimmy Anderson in the red-ball game, Pant has not been able to reproduce the strike rate of 173.6 in IPL 2018 which fetched him 684 runs, including an unbeaten 128 and five half-centuries. His strike rate since 2021 has been 128.52, 151.79 and 155.40 respectively.

Pant top-scored for Delhi Capitals aggregating 446 runs last term but it wasn’t enough for them to make the play-off stage. When the flamboyant left-handed batter was addressing the media, India were training at Eden Gardens, around 6km away, for a T20 series against England for which Pant has not been considered.

So, will his approach be any different this time? “I know this is a new beginning for me…But the ideology of captaining a side doesn’t change for me,” said Pant.

Included in that is what Pant said he learnt from Rohit Sharma. “With Rohit bhai, I have learned how to care for a player. And I feel the same when I captain a side,” he said.

“I feel if you give confidence and trust to a player, he will do things which you can’t even imagine for you and for the team. And that’s the kind of ideology we like to have.” That and a never-say-die attitude, he said.

Sharma is proof that a successful IPL captain can lead India. Hardik Pandya is another. In a television interview on Monday, Goenka said Pant was born to lead. “Surely Rishabh Pant will play for at least 14-15 years for us, we hope at least five IPL titles in these years.” Call it coincidence or what you will but five is the number of IPL titles Sharma has.

“We have all the ingredients,” said Goenka at the press conference. “We have a great captain, a good team, a good mentor and a good coach (Justin Langer).”

It was the kind of vibe expected at an event like this. The cricket begins here on March 21, and as Richie Benaud has said, the backslappers tend to fade away when performance dips. For that to not happen, for the brand to grow as Khan said he hoped it would, Pant will need the 90% luck Benaud lists as a vital ingredient for captaincy. The 10% skill, the other ingredient according to the legendary former Australia skipper, LSG are sure Pant has.

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