Rishabh Pant’s cheeky comment about Punjab Kings after the IPL 2025 auction has come back to haunt him in dramatic fashion. The Lucknow Super Giants skipper, who had mocked PBKS for their mega auction strategy, now finds himself under fire as his side slumps near the bottom of the IPL table.
Pant, who was signed by LSG for a record-breaking ₹27 crore making him the most expensive player in IPL history had earlier expressed relief that Punjab did not bid for him. In a January interview with Star Sports, Pant said, “From inside, I had only one tension. That was Punjab. Their budget was so high that if you wanted, you could not do anything. They had ₹112 crore. When Shreyas joined Punjab, I was relieved that I can join LSG now.”
The remarks, which came off as a jab at PBKS and their auction strategy, seemed harmless at the time. But as the league progresses, the tables have turned and turned hard on the wicketkeeper-batsman.
Punjab’s Perfect Payback: Double Delight Over LSG
On Sunday, May 4, Punjab Kings exacted the most fitting response not with words, but with a commanding 39 run win over Pant’s LSG at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. The result marks Punjab’s second win over Lucknow this season, having already thrashed them by 8 wickets earlier in the league stage.
The Kings, led by IPL 2024-winning captain Shreyas Iyer, are now flying high in second place on the points table with 15 points. The franchise is now on the cusp of a long-awaited playoff berth their first in 11 years.
Pant, meanwhile, was left to stew in frustration as his team’s campaign unraveled further. With LSG stuck in 7th place and needing to win all their remaining matches to stand a chance of qualifying, the pressure on their star recruit has reached boiling point.
Pant’s Poor Form Adds to LSG Woes
The disappointment isn’t just team-based. Pant himself has endured a nightmarish IPL 2025 season. In 10 matches, he has managed just 128 runs at a dismal average of 12.80 and a strike rate of 99.2 a staggering statistic in a tournament known for explosive batting.
No player with more than 55 runs this season has a lower scoring rate than Pant, and his inability to provide stability or fireworks with the bat has left LSG struggling for momentum throughout the season.
His lackluster form has become a key talking point among fans and pundits alike, especially in light of his confident pre-season statements.
The Missed Match: Ponting, Punjab, and What Could Have Been
Many believed Punjab Kings were frontrunners to sign Pant ahead of the 2025 season, especially after the appointment of Ricky Ponting as head coach. Ponting had worked closely with Pant at Delhi Capitals from 2018 to 2024 and reportedly lobbied for his inclusion at PBKS.
However, Punjab took a different route. They retained only two uncapped players Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh and walked into the Jeddah auction with ₹112 crore in their war chest. Rather than pursuing Pant, they made a decisive move for Shreyas Iyer, signing him for ₹26.75 crore the second-highest bid in IPL history.
The move has paid off brilliantly, with Shreyas leading from the front and PBKS thriving under his leadership.
In a season where narratives are shaped as much off the field as on it, Rishabh Pant’s comments about Punjab Kings have become a cautionary tale. What started as light-hearted banter now reads as misplaced arrogance.
With the league stage nearing its end, Punjab Kings are surging toward the playoffs, while Pant’s LSG are battling for survival. And in a poetic twist, it’s the team he dismissed that has had the last laugh at least for now.