Rishabh Pant wants to ‘switch off’ after brutal IPL 2025, vows to 'not think about cricket' before England Test series

Rishabh Pant finished his IPL 2025 campaign on a high, blasting a sensational century in Lucknow Super Giants’ final league game, but the knock couldn’t prevent another stinging loss that capped a season riddled with injury setbacks and missed chances. The LSG skipper smashed 118 off just 61 balls to lift his side to 227/3 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, only to see the target overhauled, thanks to Jitesh Sharma's blitzkrieg (85* off 33 deliveries). Rishabh Pant talks to broadcasters after the match against RCB(IPL)

Pant will next be in action in England next month, where India take on Ben Stokes' men for a five-Test series starting June 20. The wicketkeeper-batter will have added responsibilities on the tour, having been named the deputy to Shubman Gill, who was appointed India's new Test captain last week. The 27-year-old insisted that he wants to “not think about cricket” and enjoy the holidays before preparing for the England tour.

“Just want to switch off for a few days, not think about cricket and then the England series is coming up and just preparing for that in a good frame of mind,” Pant said at the post-match presentation.

In the 2025 IPL season, Pant had only one half-century to his name until the last match of LSG's season, where he turned up with the bat against RCB. He ended the season with 269 runs in 14 matches.

LSG's campaign, however, never truly gained momentum, weighed down by a series of injuries to key bowlers. Mohsin Khan missed the entire season, while tearaway quick Mayank Yadav made only a brief return before a recurring back injury ruled him out again.

“Eventually, you've got to play 40 overs of good cricket. Twenty overs will definitely not save you in a T20 game, and that's been our story. There were a lot of injury concerns before the tournament, that's something that hurt us going through the season,” Pant admitted.

Jitesh overshadows Pant's ton

In what was a must-win encounter, LSG appeared to be in control after Pant’s whirlwind innings, featuring 11 fours and eight sixes. However, Jitesh Sharma’s counter-attacking 85 off 33 balls, aided by Mayank Agarwal’s 23-ball 41, flipped the game on its head.

Their unbeaten 107-run stand for the fifth wicket took RCB past the line and into Qualifier 1.

Pant, however, found comfort in finally converting his starts into a significant contribution. “I was feeling well with each and every match but sometimes it just doesn't come off. Today I made sure that if I am starting well I should make a big one. Like all the experienced players do, learning from the best always.

“Whenever you get a start, try to make it big as possible. I was trying to play the field, how they were going to bowl, that was something I kept in mind. Playing through the line and looking for the areas and the gaps and kept it very simple.

“Played every ball with the same intensity and kept on playing with the same intensity throughout the innings,” he added.

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