Lucknow Super Giants pacer Akash Deep has shown his support for captain Rishabh Pant amid the widespread criticism of his form in IPL 2025.

Pant, who holds the record of being the most expensive player in IPL history at INR 27 crore, failed in the 18th season. In 14 games, the left-handed batter has scored only 269 runs, maintaining an average of 24.25 and a strike rate below 133.16. His best performance, 118 off 61, came against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

“Look, I believe that timing is key in cricket. I don’t think pressure is the problem because Rishabh has played a lot of cricket, including at the highest level, and has performed well. An athlete who has achieved so much knows how to handle pressure. It’s really about timing, sometimes you have the intent to do something, but it just doesn’t work out. I think that’s the phase Rishabh is experiencing at the moment,” he said

Pant was accepted to make a strong comeback after missing out on India’s ODI XI during their victorious Champions Trophy campaign earlier this year. However, his IPL form has raised more concerns.

Although Lucknow invested in the team around Pant, they failed to make the playoffs. Along with his batting struggles, his leadership has been questioned. However, LSG did have some positive moments this season.

The overseas trio of Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, and Nicholas Pooran has been magnificent with the bat.

The decision to sign Will O’Rourke as a replacement for the injured Mayank Yadav turned out to be a smart move. Additionally, LSG’s find of the season, spinner Digvesh Rathi, was impressive.