Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 18 (ANI): The Indian wicketkeeper-batter and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant kickstarted his practice sessions ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

In a video posted by LSG, Pant was heard advising the bowler, saying, 'Time le ke daalo koi jaldi nahi hai, apne ko bhi saans chahiye thodi si' (take your time and bowl, I need some time to breathe too).

Pant wasted no time in unleashing a flurry of attacking strokes, giving very little breathing space to the bowler. He looked in top-form with some of his more unorthodox hits.

'That sound... uffff,' said the caption of Pant's batting video on LSG's official X handle.

https://x.com/LucknowIPL/status/1901849682164298209

Pant's IPL journey with LSG could not be more poetic as he would start off his campaign as LSG's skipper against his former side Delhi Capitals at Visakhapatnam on March 24.

Pant has represented Delhi Capitals (DC) for his entire IPL career since 2016, scoring 3,284 runs in 110 matches at an average of 35.31, with a century and 18 fifties. He was appointed as the team's captain in 2021 and led them to playoffs in the same season. He was let go by the franchise in 2024 ahead of the mega auction and became the league's most expensive player ever at Rs 27 crore, bought by LSG, who later appointed him as a captain too in January. While there are speculations over his batting position, one thing is for sure, Pant fans are up for a thrilling ride!

Pant was also a part of India's ICC Champions Trophy winning team recently, however, he did not get to play a match. Pant has not featured in any white-ball game for India since August and a bumper IPL season could make him India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batter again. (ANI)