New Delhi: Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has showered praise on Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant for making the best use of his resources in the ongoing IPL 2025 season.

With five wins in nine games, the Lucknow-based franchise sits in sixth spot in the points table and will take on Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium in the afternoon game on Sunday.

Crediting Pant for his leadership skills, Kaif pointed out how without having a star bowler in their arsenal LSG have won matches from crunch situations with the likes of Avesh Khan and Digvesh Rathi.

“Rishabh Pant has been doing good captaincy in IPL 2025. He has optimised his resources very well. He has been working with a young bowler in Avesh Khan, a rookie in Digvesh Rathi, and a replacement player in Shardul Thakur, and still managed to win big games through close margins towards the end.

“He even helped Avesh defend nine runs off the final over in one of the games. It’s important to get the best out of the players that you have got, and that’s what Rishabh has done, despite not having any big international bowler in their squad,” Kaif said on Star Sports.

However, on the battting front, Pant is having a difficult season so far with only 106 runs in nine games including a knock of 63. The numbers are quite low for the stature of a player like him as it will be the first time for him since 2016 to score less than 200 runs in an IPL season if he fails to find his rhythm.

In his comeback season last year, he amassed 446 runs for Delhi Capitals in 13 games and also scored three half-centuries.

Pant was acquired by LSG for Rs 27 crore in last year’s auction to become the most expensive player in the league’s history.