Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant cannot ‘catch a break’ in this edition of the Indian Premier League.
From going through a rough patch with the bat and having his captaincy questioned by experts for his decisions, to being the butt of social media jokes for his ₹27-crore price tag and his meme-worthy ‘equation’ with LSG co-owner Sanjeev Goenka, Pant is having a turbulent IPL 2025 campaign.
New Pant meme
And it seems it’s about to get worse for the swashbuckling left-handed batsman after Iceland Cricket decided to wade into the action on social media.
Iceland Cricket announced an “IPL 2025 frauds and scammers team” on its X account, giving Pant the dual role of captain and wicketkeeper of the side.
IC captioned the tweet thus: “On a rain day in Reyjavík, we give you our IPL 2025 frauds and scammers team: R Tripathi, R Ravindra, I Kishan, R Pant (c & wk), V Iyer, G Maxwell, L Livingstone, D Hooda, R Ashwin, M Pathirana, M Shami; No impact player: M Kumar”.
The ‘team’
Chennai Super Kings, who are bottom of the IPL 2025 table, feature heavily in the list.
At least 5 players from the five-time champions feature in the list, including Rahul Tripathi and Rachin Ravindra, who open the batting for this satirical team, and Deepak Hooda, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mateesha Pathirana.
Other players in the lineup include Ishan Kishan (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Venkatesh Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders), Glenn Maxwell (Punjab Kings), Liam Livingstone (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), and Mohammed Shami (Sunrisers Hyderabad).
The team also has an Impact Player, albeit one who makes no impact. Christened the “No impact player”, Mukesh Kumar of the Delhi Capitals is the unfortunate chosen one.
LSG captain Pant’s inclusion in this parody squad only reflects the growing scrutiny around his leadership and batting in IPL 2025.
Despite being the most expensive purchase in the auction, the southpaw has struggled to find rhythm with the bat scoring only 128 runs in 10 matches in IPL 2025.
In the high-scoring encounter against Punjab Kings, Pant failed yet again with the bat as he got out for just 18, prompting visible frustration from LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka — a moment that quickly went viral online.
Former cricketers have also voiced concern.
Adam Gilchrist recently remarked that Pant is “not his normal self” and seems to be missing his usual spark while Ambati Rayudu went a step further, labeling Pant “pretty stubborn” and urging the LSG skipper to “accept that he is struggling.”
Iceland Cricket
This isn’t Iceland Cricket’s first rodeo with memes — it has taken a swipe at cricket stars in the past, too.
While the latest joke is clearly aimed at stirring laughter — and jumping on the bandwagon of Pant memes — during what has been an intense IPL season, the scrutiny on the India star seems to be heating up as LSG start to slip up in the race for the playoffs.
The Lucknow side are currently 7th in the IPL 2025 table, with 10 points from 11 matches, and are the only team still in contention for a playoff spot with a negative net run rate (-0.469).
LSG’s match against the current table-toppers RCB on Friday is most likely a do-or-die situation for Rishab Pant’s team.
Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.