India, April 2 -- When Lucknow Super Giants spent a fortune in acquiring Rishabh Pant at the IPL 2025 mega-auction, making him the most expensive purchase in history at Rs.27.5 crore, expectations were huge. LSG, one of the two new franchises introduced ahead of the 2022 season, had done reasonably well in the first two years. With Gautam Gambhir as mentor, they qualified for the Playoffs in 2022 and 2023 after finishing third on the points table. However, things took a turn for the worse in 2024 when LSG were stranded on seventh. Hence, with Pant's purchase, the franchise intended to usher in a new direction.

Or so it thought. With two defeats in three matches, Lucknow are already under fire, with Pant bearing the brunt. The LSG captain...