'You Just Don't Have Funds': Ex-AUS Cricketer Plays Down Rishabh Pant's IPL Price Tag As LSG's Only Worry, Highlights Massive Auction Flaw

IPL 2025: Lucknow Super Giants became the fifth team to be eliminated from the eighteenth season of the Indian Premier League. Lucknow looked like a very strong team on paper, but somehow, their performances haven't translated on the field, and they now find themselves out of the contest. The Super Giants have 10 points from the 12 matches that they have played so far, and even if they win their remaining two games, they can only get to 14 odd points, which isn't enough for qualification.

Tom Moody Highlights Lucknow Super Giants' Biggest Weakness

Apart from Lucknow Super Giants' lackluster show, Rishabh Pant's performances have been discussed a lot, considering the price at which he was picked up during the IPL 2025 Mega auction. The wicketkeeper-batsman became the costliest-ever player to be picked at an IPL auction. The Super Giants shelled out a whopping ₹27 crore to procure Pant's services. Former Australia player and the coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad shared a very honest evaluation of Lucknow Super Giants' campaign. Unlike others, the ex-SRH coach refused to blame Pant's price tag for LSG's debacle. 

Moody rather highlighted how LSG's auction strategy was flawed, and they are now paying the price for it. "The expense on Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran, those two players, makes it very hard to build a very strong bowling unit. You've got to be able to have an impactful bowling unit in powerplays, be adaptable in the middle overs, and take wickets and squeeze the opposition," said Tom Moody, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.

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SRH Decimate LSG, Knock Them Out Of IPL 2025

The Super Giants looked like firm favourites to win the SRH vs. LSG clash. Riding high on the explosive knocks played by Aiden Markram (61 off 38 balls) and Mitchell Marsh (65 off 39 balls), Lucknow registered a mammoth total of 205 runs. But the Sunrisers Hyderabad had some other ideas in mind, and they comfortably chased down this total with eight legal deliveries still remaining.

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