"He doesn’t have a clue": Cheteshwar Pujara slams Rishabh Pant’s poor DRS calls with explosive statement
Published - 23 Apr 2025, 06:54 PM
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Cheteshwar Pujara has pointed out a key flaw in Rishabh Pant’s captaincy amidst the Indian wicketkeeper and his team, Lucknow Super Giants’ struggles in the ongoing IPL 2025. Pujara revealed that Rishabh Pant is very poor when it comes to taking Decision Review System (DRS) calls.
The veteran Indian batter, who shared the dressing room with Pant, highlighted that the Lucknow Super Giants captain often struggles to read the ball’s trajectories correctly and ends up making wrong calls, sometimes even shifting the blame onto the bowlers or batters for the same.
Cheteshwar Pujara points out Rishabh Pant’s DRS struggles amid IPL 2025 challenges
Pant is going through a rough phase in the ongoing IPL 2025, both with the bat and as an LSG captain. While LSG are still holding onto the fifth spot, Pant’s DRS record has been disappointing, with only one successful review in eight games in the ongoing tournament.
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His latest blunder came during LSG’s eight-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals at home on April 22 in Lucknow, where a review on Digvesh Rathee’s delivery failed, leaving Pant visibly frustrated. After which, Pujara slammed Pant and suggested he improve his wicketkeeping.
Cheteshwar Pujara was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo, “I have had so many conversations with him in Test format. So, I know that he doesn’t have a clue of where the ball is going. Being a wicket-keeper, he should know, and he will end up blaming me that I don’t know.”
Rishabh Pant was actually letting me down on a lot of occasions: Ravichandran Ashwin
Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara isn’t the only Indian cricketer to point out Rishabh Pant’s struggles with DRS. Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin also took a light-hearted dig at Pant’s decisions behind the stumps, suggesting that the wicketkeeper often fails to support bowlers properly during reviews.
Back in 2021, the former Indian off-spinner highlighted how important a keeper’s judgment is in making the right DRS calls. He felt that Pant's input wasn’t always reliable and hinted that it had affected the team’s success with reviews.
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Ashwin had said at the India Today conclave, “Because I ask valid questions in terms of saying… I know whether the ball has struck in line or not, but with respect to the line from the angle that I am bowling and the bounce, the keeper really needs to help. And Rishabh is actually letting me down on a lot of occasions. I took him aside, and I said, “We need to sit together on a crash course with DRS, because Ravi bhai (Shastri) has a few complaints with me going for DR’S.”
Rishabh Pant reveals why he batted at No.7 against DC
Notably, Pant has so far managed only 106 runs in 9 games for the LSG in the ongoing IPL 2025. The 27-year-old will be seen in action on April 27 when LSG will take on the Mumbai Indians in their next game in the tournament at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The left-handed batter batted at number seven against the DC and was dismissed for a duck as LSG lost the game by eight wickets in Lucknow. Reacting to his demotion in the batting order, Pant said, “The idea was to capitalize. We sent Samad to capitalize on a wicket like that, but after that Miller came in, and we just really got stuck in the wicket."
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