Pants former teammates Axar will be uncomfortable by Kuleep

Rishabh Pant has been miserable so far in IPL 2025, with his form unable to justify the hefty Rs 27 crore price tag. What is even more worrying is his trouble while playing against spin. On Tuesday, he is likely to be troubled further when he will face his former teammates Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as LSG take on DC at the Ekana in Lucknow.

Will Axar, Kuldeep spin Pant into misery?

Pant’s stats against spin in IPL over the last year is just dumbfounding. Since 2024, the southpaw has been dismissed eight times by spinners. He has managed to score just 32 runs off 45 deliveries that he has faced by spinners. His strike rate is just 71.11 and 50% of the deliveries that he has faced have been dot balls.

In his very first game in IPL 2025, which was also against DC, Pant was dismissed for a six-ball duck by Kuldeep. Post that game, he has been dismissed two out of seven times by spinners.

Pant has been dismissed thrice by Axar and Kuldeep in the IPL previously. He has managed to score just 11 singles, 1 double, zero fours and 2 sixes against the duo. The southpaw’s strike rate while facing his former teammates is just 5.35 and his average just 8.33.

No matter where Pant has batted for LSG in IPL 2025, he has failed to fire. The southpaw has so far smashed just one half-century, which came in the game against CSK, albeit in a losing cause.

So far, he has only managed to score 106 runs from 8 innings, averaging 15.14 and boasts of a woeful strike rate of 98.14.

While majority of the heavy lifting has been done by other LSG batters, it is about time Pant breaks free from the shackles of poor form. But given his record against spinners in the recent past, he could very well be a sitting duck for DC. After all, Axar and Kuldeep would love to get rid of their former captain with ease.