Lucknow Super Giants’ brand new skipper Rishabh Pant spilt beans about the close bond he shares with Nicholas Pooran and their destructive middle order ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Pant and Pooran have shared a bond off the field, which grew deeper when the Indian southpaw was on the road to recovery. When a life-threatening accident in December 2022 left Pant incapable of playing, Pooran used to keep a check on the explosive batter’s recovery. The 27-year-old will now share the same dressing room with his West Indies counterpart for the upcoming season of the IPL.

“Pooran is my close friend, have a very old relationship with him. During my injury, we used to talk, and he used to ask if I was doing fine or not. That relationship is always there,” Pant said on Star Sports.

With Pooran and Pant in the mix, LSG has bagged a couple of renowned hard hitters for the latest edition of the cash-rich league.

Considering the number of run-scoring spectacles Sunrisers Hyderabad, LSG appears to be the franchise on paper that will continue with the trend of high-scoring affairs.

Pant, Pooran and David Miller appear as promising prospects in the middle order who can decimate even the famed bowling attacks on any given day.

“Miller has been phenomenal with the kind of experience he has had during the last five years, it is amazing, finishing the game. If you have all three of them, phir to definitely tabaahi hai. Hamari team mein saare tabahi player hai bhai (In our team, all players are destructive),” Pant added.

In the last edition of the IPL, Pant marked his return to competitive cricket and garnered 446 runs in 13 matches, averaging 40.55. With his compelling performances, he earned a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad and lifted the title against Miller’s South Africa.

Pooran was the prime force for Lucknow with the bat in the last edition. He inflicted carnage and amassed a whopping 499 runs at a staggering average of 62.38 while striking at 178.21.

Miller, who represented Gujarat Titans last season, made nine appearances for the franchise. He added 210 runs to his name while averaging at 35.00 with an impressive strike rate of 151.08.

South Africa vs Pakistan 2nd ODI Live Streaming: When And Where To Watch© AFP

SA v PAK LIVE Scorecard, 1st ODI© AFP

South Africa vs Pakistan 3rd T20I Live Score Updates© AFP

Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan© AFP

David Miller in action© AFP

Some of the world’s top cricketers will be among 574 players seeking an Indian Premier League (IPL) payday when the lucrative T20 tournament begins its mega auction on Sunday, November 24. A whole host of overseas stars have listed their names for the mega auction, with some unexpected faces also throwing their name into the hat. Overseas players have also been heavily sought-after in recent auctions. We look at five stars up for grabs during the two-day bidding frenzy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

1. James Anderson (England) –The England Test great wants to add a final chapter to his storied career and is seeking an IPL berth for the first time, entering the auction at a base price of $148,115.

The 42-year-old fast bowler retired from Tests earlier this year after 704 wickets, the third-highest in five-day history after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan and Australian spin king Shane Warne.

He has limited experience in 20-over matches, playing 19 internationals for England with his last 15 years ago.

But Anderson has said he isn’t ready to call time on his career, prompting West Indies great Viv Richards to liken his longevity to LeBron James.

2. Mitchell Starc (Australia) –The 34-year-old smashed the IPL auction record last year when Kolkata Knight Riders netted his services for $2.98 million.

The left-arm quick and handy lower-order slugger was instrumental in their run to the title, including taking 2-14 in the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Kolkata nevertheless opted not to retain him. “It is what it is, that’s franchise cricket,” Starc said.

With 193 wickets in 142 T20 matches, the imposing Starc — he is 1.96 metres (6 feet 4 inches) tall — enters the auction at the top base price bracket of $237,000.

3. Rishabh Pant (India) – Pant, 27, was forced out of competitive cricket for more than a year after a serious car crash in December 2022 but returned to captain the Delhi Capitals this year.

India’s top wicketkeeper-batsman and the franchise parted ways after their disappointing sixth-placed finish and Pant will also enter the auction at a $237,000 base price.

With his sharp glovework and knack of taking on bowlers with attacking and unconventional batting, pundits believe he is in the running to secure a record payday.

“Mitchell Starc’s auction record is in danger,” former India quick Irfan Pathan said on social media.

4. David Miller (South Africa) – Known as “Killer Miller” for his destructive batting, the South African has a T20 international strike rate of close to 140.

The 35-year-old is also looking for a new home after playing with Gujarat Titans since the team’s inception in 2022, smashing 210 runs in nine matches in this year’s season.

India’s dismissal of Miller in this year’s T20 World Cup final in Barbados was a key moment in the match and the Proteas went on to lose.

He is likely to set off a bidding war after registering for the auction at a base price of $178,000.

5. Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) – Ravindra made an instant impact in his IPL debut this year, smashing 222 runs at a punishing strike rate above 161 for Chennai Super Kings.

The left-hander’s ability to play spin with aplomb on subcontinent pitches saw him fare well during last year’s ODI World Cup and in New Zealand’s recent 3-0 Test whitewash in India.

The Wellington-born Ravindra’s parents hail from Bengaluru and hopes abound there that he will join the city’s franchise, which also features fan favourite Virat Kohli.

The 25-year-old’s first name reflects his father’s love of India’s cricket greats — “Ra” from Rahul Dravid and “chin” from Sachin Tendulkar.

Ravindra enters the auction at a $178,000 base price.

IND vs SA LIVE: Squads –

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Dayal, Ravi Bishnoi, Ramandeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma

South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton(w), Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Nqabayomzi Peter, Ottneil Baartman, Donovan Ferreira, Mihlali Mpongwana, Patrick Kruger

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant opened up on Suryakumar Yadav’s title-winning catch against South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup in the final at Barbados in June, saying that the ball did not cross the boundary because of the prayers of the die-hard fans waiting for an ICC trophy to come home after 11 years.

India ended their 11-year-long ICC trophy drought as Virat Kohli (76), Hardik Pandya (3/20) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) starred in Men in Blue’s seven-run win over South Africa in the final at Barbados on June 29. Virat’s masterclass knock helped India reach 176/7 in 20 overs, while Bumrah and Pandya unleashed a pace choke on Proteas, who were once riding on the high of a 27-ball 52 by Klaasen, snatching the match from a losing position to restrict Proteas to 169/8 in their 20 overs.

During the game, India were in huge trouble while defending 177 against a highly-attacking Proteas batting unit.

The 15th over bowled by Axar Patel saw him being dismantled by Heinrich Klaasen and smashed for 24 runs, leaving India with just 30 runs to defend in 30 balls. But from then on, the trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh unleashed a brilliant pace-choke, while also taking crucial wickets. Pandya secured the crucial wicket of Klaasen in the 17th over, while a fine catch from Suryakumar Yadav at long-off in the final over saw him get the prized scalp of David Miller, when India needed to defend 16 runs in six balls. Pacers brought India into the game with a death-over masterclass and Protwas was left seven runs short of the target.

Speaking on the comedian Tanmay Bhat’s Youtube Channel, Pant recalled when the ball was in the air, everyone thought it would go for a six, but the fans’ prayers did not let it happen.

“When the ball was in the air, it felt like everything was gone. When it hit the bat, it seemed like a sure-shot six. The ball did not cross the boundary line because of the Indian fans’ prayers,” said Pant on Sunday.

Rishabh, who was a key star of India’s World Cup triumph, said that when he was away from the game due to his life-threatening road accident back in 2022, all he thought about was winning the World Cup for India. But he also talked about the importance of moving on and focusing on the task in hand while still savouring those moments.

“As a cricketer, you dream of winning the World Cup. During the injury, I was thinking that I wanted to win the World Cup. To come back into the side and directly win the World Cup was an unbelievable feeling,” said Pant.

“I am not thinking much about it now because I feel in India people forget after 10-15 days what you have done. So, it is important for you to forget these things as well. That moment will always be there with me, but now we have to move on and focus on what’s next,” he added.

After a life-threatening road accident in December 2022, Pant made his comeback to competitive cricket during the Indian Premier League (IPL), captaining Delhi Capitals. DC finished in the sixth spot with seven wins, seven losses, and 14 points and failed to move to playoffs. He scored 446 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of over 155 with three half-centuries and emerged as the team’s top run-getter.

Pant was also a vital member of India’s ICC T20 World Cup-winning team. He was the third-highest run-getter for India in their T20 World Cup triumph. He amassed 171 runs at an average of 24.42 in eight matches and also contributed with his skills behind the stumps with 14 dismissals, the most by a wicketkeeper in a single T20 WC edition. His influential performances helped India end their 13-year-long ICC World Cup drought.

Now, he will be in action during the first Test against Bangladesh at Chennai from September 19 onwards. However, other than Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand at home, Pant’s most anticipated matches will be against Australia during the Border Gavaskar Trophy from November 22 onwards, away from home.

In the recently concluded Duleep Trophy tie for India B, he starred in his team’s win over Shubman Gill led India A, with scores of 7 and 61 and some fine work behind the stumps.

On his attacking gameplay and if he considered playing in much safer way, Pant gave a hilarious answer while referring to England’s highly-attacking ‘Bazball’ approach to cricket under skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum in Test cricket.

“Abhi Bazball dekh rahe ho toh maza aa rha hai. Jab mein pehle kar rha tha toh acha nai lag rha tha kya?” (When you see Bazball you enjoy it, but when I did it before did you not like it or what?),” Pant remarked.

The dashing wicketkeeper-batter also reflected on his relationship with former coach Ravi Shastri, saying that the former head coach gave him a lot of “freedom and understanding” and even asked him to play reverse sweeps against off-spinners, who were doing well against Pant at one point.

“It was an amazing relationship. There was a lot of freedom and understanding with Ravi bhai. Instead of telling me not to do something, he would give me a better option. I believe in that approach. I do not like when someone says that this cannot be done. I was getting out to off-spinners very often at one point. He told me that I needed to do something about facing off-spinners. He asked me to start playing the reverse sweep against off-spinners,” he recalled.

On his bonding with skipper Rohit Sharma and understanding his on-field messages delivered in a hilarious, at times cryptic and typical Mumbaikar manner, Rishabh said in apparent jest that though he is able to understand what Rohit is able to say while on-field, he does not understand him much off the field.

The two-match series against Bangladesh will be starting from September 19 onwards, with the first Test taking place in Chennai and the second Test from September 27 onwards in Kanpur.

Indian squad for the first Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yash Dayal.