Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary questioned Rishabh Pant’s captaincy after Lucknow Super Giants suffered a seven-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur in the ongoing IPL 2026 on Tuesday.
Tiwary questioned Pant for giving the new ball to Akash Singh when he had the option of bowling with in-form Prince Yadav against RR. Singh, who scalped three wickets in the previous game against Chennai Super Kings, was taken for 23 runs in the first over of the innings.
The left-arm seamer eventually returned with expensive figures of 1-54 in three overs he bowled.
Tiwary questioned Rishabh Pant for introducing Prince Yadav in the sixth over of the innings.
“In my opinion, that was a mistake, whether it be from the captain or the coach’s strategy. If we go back to RR’s game against DC in Jaipur, the plan made against Suryavanshi then was the swinging yorker. It was Kyle Jamieson who executed that. That plan was made because his bats comes down from third man, and if someone bowls a fast incoming delivery, then that is a good opportunity to get him out, especially the first few balls,” Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.
“Today, LSG had a similar opportunity because Prince Yadav can bowl yorkers with the new ball. If I was in his place, I would have started the new ball with Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan instead of Akash Singh. So LSG’s thinking should have been one step ahead there, we did not get to see that, and then we saw 23 runs being conceded in the first over,” he added.
Meanwhile, Yadav returned with figures of 0-43 in his four overs as he also failed to make a mark.
On the other hand, Rishabh Pant admitted they missed experience in their bowling innings after posting 220 runs on the board.
“Experience is something you’re always going to miss regardless of whether things go good or bad because experience can’t be earned overnight. It takes years for people to gain that experience, and definitely in pressure situations, that is one thing which keeps you ahead for sure,” Rishabh Pant said during the post-match presentation.
LSG will play their last league stage match against Punjab Kings at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, on Saturday.
