Rishabh Pant and Ian Bishop had a bizarre chat at the toss during Lucknow Super Giants’ (IPL) 13th match of the season against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Pant lost the toss, and things turned awkward when the LSG skipper revealed the team had made two changes, which included Mohammed Shami missing out.
Pant revealed that Shami was replaced by fit-again Mohsin Khan while Aiden Markram had flown home due to personal reasons. Ayush Badoni returned to the playing XI to take his place.
Ian Bishop Questions Rishabh Pant Over Mohammed Shami’s Absence
Bishop questioned Pant over Shami’s absence but did not get any response. The former West Indies cricketer asked the same question twice, but the LSG captain remained mum and appeared puzzled at the question. Later, Bishop asked the 27-year-old about the changes in the team again and ended the conversation.
Rishabh Pant’s Forgettable Day
The incident happened after the Indian team for the Afghanistan series was announced, which brought bad news for the LSG skipper. The wicketkeeper-batter was dropped from the Indian ODI team after playing just one game in the format since November 2022 despite being regularly part of the squad. He was also sacked as the just a year after being named Shubman Gill’s deputy.
This means that Pant is now just a one-format player for India and not part of the national team’s white-ball scheme of things, as he has also not played T20I cricket for the Men in Blue for nearly two years.