Table of Contents
A moment of awkwardness between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant and Ian Bishop during the toss of the Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants (RR vs LSG) match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
After the toss, Ian Bishop was having a formal chat with both of the captains. LSG’s Rishabh Pant was the second to discuss their team strategy for the match as he lost the toss to Yashasvi Jaiswal, the stand-in skipper of the Rajasthan Royals.
Ian Bishop asked Rishabh Pant to explain the reason behind Mohammed Shami's absence.
During the conversation, Bishop asked about the changes they made to tonight’s game. Pant started the reply well by mentioning Aiden Markram’s absence due to a personal issue. The awkward moment appeared when the discussion arrived about Mohammed Shami’s absence.
Rishabh Pant informed that in place of Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan would take the field. For obvious reasons, Ian Bishop asked the reason behind Shami’s absence. After that, the conversation took a banter and never shaped normally as it should have.
Here is the conversation between Rishabh Pant and Ian Bishop:
At the toss:
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) May 19, 2026
Pant: Shami is not playing, Mohsin is playing
Bishop: What’s the issue with Shami?
Pant: Yeah
Bishop: What’s the issue with Shami?
Pant: Mohsin
Bishop: No, what’s the issue with Shami?
*Pant makes a puzzled face*
Bishop: Who is out?
Pant: Shami is out,… pic.twitter.com/P70sEgjcaH
LSG has nothing to lose from this match
LSG has nothing to lose from the match; they can play freely, without any extra pressure, as they have already been eliminated from the ongoing title race. But, despite the lackluster run in the ongoing season, their performance against some the big teams like the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Mumbai Indians are good.
The RR team management knows it very well that if LSG plays to their true potential, then they can surpass them too. Another defeat at such a crucial point of the group stage can be proove fetal for the Rajasthan Royals. So, they will have to overcome the hurdle tonight, at any cost.
Rishabh Pant sounded confident while describing the strategy
After the toss, Rishabh Pant's body language looked very confident, and that reflected through his words as well. The Lucknow Super Giants skipper mentioned that they were confident for this match. He vowed to display top-notch cricket for their fans.
"Pretty confident, we know this is a good wicket to bat on. Happy to either bat or bowl first. Definitely, as I said in the last few games, we have a lot to play for. As a team, we take pride and confidence in playing every match for our fans. At the same time, we want to put our best foot forward because we know we have a good team and we can do it," Pant said.
"Aiden (Markram) is not there because he has gone home) for his personal thing. And just one more, Shami is not playing, and Mohsin is playing. Badoni comes in for Aiden," he added.
Read More: Why Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja are not playing today's game vs LSG?
