IPL 2025- Amid Severe Criticism, Akash Deep Comes In Defence Of Lucknow Super Giants Captain Rishabh Pant: 'It's More About Timing'

Lucknow Super Giants have endured a tough IPL 2025 campaign. Rishabh Pant's team has failed to qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs, but they still have a chance to end their campaign on a high when they host Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Ekana Stadium on Tuesday, May 27.

Akash Deep Defends Rishabh Pant Amid Fierce Criticism

LSG placed their bets on Rishabh and made him the most expensive player at the IPL mega auction. They paid INR 27 crore to acquire his services, but the 27-year-old has failed to turn the heat, and his struggle has been quite evident throughout the season. Pant, who has also been named the vice-captain of the Indian Test team, has only managed 151 runs in 13 matches this season.

LSG will have the opportunity to provide a severe jolt to RCB's top-two hopes. In order to finish in the top two, Virat Kohli's side needs to beat LSG in Lucknow and just like SRH and CSK, Pnt could take some inspiration from their copybooks.

Also Read: Virat Kohli Eyes Massive Career Milestone As Rajat Patidar's RCB Try To Set A Date With Shreyas Iyer's PBKS In IPL 2025 Qualifier 1

Pant's poor performance has attracted severe criticism, but ahead of the RCB game, LSG pacer Akash Deep has backed his captain.

As quoted by India Today, he said, “Look, I feel that in cricket, timing is also something very important. I don’t think it’s about pressure because Rishabh has played a lot of cricket, and at a very high level too, and he has performed as well. An athlete who has achieved so much in life knows how to handle pressure. So I don’t think pressure is the reason. It’s more about timing—sometimes you want to do something, but it just doesn’t happen. I feel that’s the phase Rishabh is going through right now.”

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How Can RCB Can Finish In The Top-Two

Rajat Patidar's side cannot lose at any cost. If they win, they will leapfrog the Gujarat Titans to the top of the table and will play the Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 on May 29. If the match gets washed out, then Gujarat Titans will face Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1, as Shubman Gill's team has more wins than RCB as of now.