'He has been fantastic as a leader' - LSG mentor Zaheer Khan throws weight behind under-fire Rishabh Pant

LSG mentor Zaheer Khan throws weight behind under-fire Rishabh Pant (Source: Surjeet Yadav/MB Media/Getty Images)

's form has been a huge worry for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The LSG skipper failed yet again, getting dismissed for just four runs in his team's most recent game against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on April 27. The Lucknow franchise also lost their fifth game in the tournament, making their chances in the playoffs slightly tougher.

In 10 matches so far, Pant has only scored 110 runs at an abysmal average of 12.22 and strike rate of 98.21. Notably, Pant was bought for a whopping INR 27 crore by LSG at the mega auction in November last year. While some feel that the price tag is putting pressure on the wicketkeeper-batter, LSG mentor  has made an honest assessment, stating that Pant has been a great leader and will return to form eventually.

“I wouldn't relate it to anything like that. He is a leader and he has been fantastic as a leader, that's something which I can vouch for, The kind of efforts he has been taking to make sure that each and every individual in that group is comfortable, is heard (out) and the planning to everything which goes around in IPL has been spot on,” Zaheer told the media after the loss against MI.

“I wouldn't relate it to pressure. You have seen that he is the kind of personality… what happened in the last game is something which is gone by and what's going to happen, he is a very optimistic and a positive personality, so from our side, it's just about continuing with that,” the 2011 World Champion added.

We've identified Rishabh as that leader who is going to take this team forward: Zaheer Khan

Zaheer added further that Pant is going to continue leading the team, shutting down speculations of him being dropped from the team next season. He has also given his insights on how a form of cricketer changes going forward in the tournament.

“When you're talking about a team, you're talking about winning the tournament. We've identified Rishabh as that leader who is going to take this team forward, so there is no doubt about that, There are going to be people who are going to hit form. There are going to be people who are going to be short on form, that's the way game goes,” Zaheer said.

“We know that in the back-end of the tournament now, the pressure is going to be high, so that's the focus and it's about finding that one innings, that is something for anyone, I always say,” the two-time IPL finalist concluded.