Captain Rishabh Pant talked on Monday about how tough it was for his team to cope without some key bowlers, which led to the Lucknow Super Giants missing out on the IPL playoffs. Their six-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad ended their chances for a top-four finish, and the team struggled throughout the season with a thin bowling squad.
It could have been one of our best seasons, but we had a lot of injuries coming in, and as a team, we decided not to dwell on that. Still, it was hard to fill those gaps, Pant shared with the broadcaster after the loss. LSG kicked off the IPL facing injuries to players like Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, and Mayank Yadav. Even though they brought in Shardul Thakur partway through the season and some players returned, Mayank got injured again before he could play much.
“We planned our auction, and if we had our full bowling lineup, things might have been different. But that’s cricket for you; things don’t always go your way. We’re proud of how we played, focusing more on the positives than the negatives,” he said.
Pant noted that their batting lineup is strong with plenty of firepower, which is a good takeaway from the season, even though he had a tough time with his own batting this year. He mentioned that it got harder to keep up with the competition as the playoff race heated up. “We started the season strong, but in the second half, it got tougher to keep up with other teams,” he commented.
Pant also mentioned Digvesh Rathi’s impressive performance in his first season, calling him one of the bright spots, and emphasized the need for continuous improvement in the team.
On the other side, SRH’s victory was largely thanks to Abhishek Sharma, who smashed 59 runs off just 20 balls. He explained that having a clear plan helped him succeed. “If we batted first, I might have approached things differently, but chasing a big total meant we had a solid plan. Any player doing well knows you need to make the most of the powerplay when chasing 200-plus,” he said.
Sharma also pointed out the importance of taking responsibility as an international player. “When you’re an international player, you have to step up. The plan was the same as with the national team. If the chance comes on the first ball, I’m going for it,” he added.
