Price Tag Pressure Behind Rishabh Pant's Poor Form? Zaheer Khan Gives Honest Response

Rishabh Pant has been ticking all the right boxes as a leader but needs something to click with the bat to bounce back from a poor run of scores in this IPL, feels Lucknow Super Giants mentor Zaheer Khan. Pant has endured a disappointing run with the bat this IPL, registering six single-digit scores for 110 runs in 10 matches with his 63 against Chennai Super Kings being the only performance of note. On Sunday, the LSG captain Pant perished for a mere four trying to reverse sweep Mumbai Indians' part-time spinner Will Jacks here in their 54-run defeat.

Zaheer dismissed suggestions that Pant, who was bought for a whopping Rs 27 crore — the most expensive purchase in IPL auction history — is feeling the pressure of the big paycheque.

“I wouldn't relate it to anything like that. He is a leader and he has been fantastic as a leader, that's something which I can vouch for,” Zaheer told the media after LSG's loss here at the Wankhede Stadium.

“The kind of efforts he has been taking to make sure that each and every individual in that group is comfortable, is heard (out) and the planning to everything which goes around in IPL has been spot on.

“As a leader, he is ticking all the boxes. As a batter, the middle-order is dependent on Rishabh and I am very confident that the impact which we want from him will come. It's just about something clicking,” Zaheer said.

The former India pacer said he would not relate Pant's hefty price tag to creating any additional pressure on the India wicketkeeper-batter.

“I wouldn't relate it to pressure. You have seen that he is the kind of personality… what happened in the last game is something which is gone by and what's going to happen, he is a very optimistic and a positive personality so from