IPL 2025: Money can be a double-edged sword in cricket — or in sport more generally. It can bring contentment and financial security, but it can also weigh players down with heightened expectations.
Two cricketers, both Delhi stalwarts now representing other franchises in the 2025 IPL, exemplify these contrasting realities: Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant.
Having earned his wealth through sheer hard work, focus, and single-minded dedication, Kohli has navigated the pressure of performance with remarkable success. Now the elder statesman of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he remains as committed as ever to the franchise. Money seems to be secondary; his prime goal is to deliver RCB their first IPL title. This season, Kohli looks determined to steer the ship home.
By contrast, Pant is perhaps feeling the weight of expectations after becoming the most expensive player in IPL history. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) paid a staggering Rs 27 crore for one season to secure his services — a first in 18 years of IPL auctions. Moving away from his familiar Delhi franchise to his mother’s hometown, Lucknow, has brought fresh challenges. The pressure of captaincy and the need to lead by example appear to be affecting his batting form.
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Committed and consistent: The Kohli method
At 36, Kohli continues to impress with his unwavering commitment and consistency. His sequence of scores in his first 10 matches of the 2025 IPL reads: 59 not out, 31, 7, 67 not out, 22, 62 not out, 1, 73 not out, 70, and 51. Across these games, he has tallied 443 runs at a handsome strike rate of 138.87 and an average of 63.29.
With his fifth half-century of the tournament — a 47-ball knock against Delhi Capitals at his ‘home’ ground in Delhi on April 27 — Kohli reclaimed the Orange Cap as the tournament’s top scorer. His career IPL tally rose to 8,447 runs (balls faced 6,384, strike rate 132.32, average 39.47).
Kohli, who opens the innings for RCB, has long been hailed as the ‘Chase Master’ and ‘The Finisher’. This season, four of his six half-centuries have come while chasing targets — and on three occasions, he remained unbeaten to see his side home: 59 not out against Kolkata Knight Riders, 62 not out against Rajasthan Royals, and 73 not out against Punjab Kings.
After the win against Delhi Capitals on April 27, Kohli explained his approach during chases. “Whenever there is a chase on, I keep checking with the dugout if we are on course, what is my role etc., who are the bowlers to target. I try to ensure I don’t stop my singles and doubles and combine with the occasional boundary,” he said after the game.
“This year you can’t just come out and hit; you have to assess, understand the conditions, and then plan accordingly. We have communicated beautifully as a team in the batting and that’s the reason we have seven wins out of 10. It’s looking good for us.”
Under Kohli’s influence, RCB have climbed to the top of the points table for the first time this season, securing 14 points from 10 matches and looking well on course for the playoffs.
Kohli’s cricketing intelligence
Former India Test player Madan Lal summed up Kohli’s greatness succinctly. “If I have to describe Virat in one word, I’d say he is a very clever cricketer. He knows the game so well. He studies the scoreboard when batting, what the team requires, and how he plans to win the game. It is not that he has become a finisher now; he was a finisher earlier as well,” Madan Lal told Patriot.
The 1983 World Cup-winning all-rounder cited Kohli’s innings during the T20 World Cup final against South Africa last year. India, reduced to 34/3 by the fifth over, recovered thanks largely to Kohli’s composed 76 off 59 balls, helping set a competitive total of 176/7. India went on to lift the title, assisted by Surya Kumar Yadav’s spectacular boundary catch of David Miller.
“While batting, Kohli must have been thinking how he could help take the total to a defendable level,” said Lal, praising the batsman’s game awareness and temperament.
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Pant’s struggles under the spotlight
At the other end of the spectrum, Rishabh Pant is battling form, expectations, and a new environment.
Until LSG’s defeat to Mumbai Indians on April 27, Pant had scored just 110 runs in 10 matches, with a solitary half-century to his name. His scores so far: 0, 15, 2, 2, did not bat, 21, 63, 3, 0, and 4. It is a stark contrast to his natural flair — and a return that feels misaligned with his record-breaking price tag.
Pant, who usually bats at No.4, even experimented with opening once this season but without success. In some matches, he dropped himself down the order, presumably to regain lost form.
With just four games remaining in the league phase, Pant urgently needs to rediscover his touch. LSG sit mid-table, and three wins from the remaining four matches could be enough to reach the playoffs. Much will depend on their captain’s resurgence.
A coach’s advice for Rishabh
Sanjeev Pant, the veteran coach who admitted an 11-year-old Rishabh to Maharana Pratap Sports College in Dehradun, believes the young captain needs to simplify his approach.
“When your luck is not with you and you are not getting the timing right, you should spend some time at the crease and not play ambitious shots,” Sanjeev told Patriot.
“When Rishabh comes in to bat these days, the team is often down by two wickets hypothetically speaking, and he gets confused. Batsmen like Kohli and KL Rahul take their time to settle.”
The retired coach, no relation to Rishabh, added a suggestion: “If attacking batsmen like Rishabh open the innings, they are more likely to score runs. Either he should open the innings or come in the 15th or 16th over when he can play big shots freely with less pressure.”
This is Pant’s ninth IPL season. His best performance came in 2018 when he scored 684 runs in 14 matches at an average of 52.62 and a strike rate of 173.60. That season, however, the Delhi Daredevils (as the franchise was then known) finished last. LSG will hope that Pant can channel that version of himself — and guide his new team towards glory.
