The trademark cheeky smile is somehow missing in action. That familiar grin isn't visible at all. Rishabh Pant looks drained and quite frustrated. Somehow hard to imagine that this was the man who valiantly came back from a life-enthralling accident. Somehow, current-day Pant looks more running down than during his recovering days. And really, it feels so off. Just for somebody who once used to delight us with fearless strokeplay, losing that smile would be unsettling to witness. After 10 games in IPL 2025, Pant had managed a meagre 110 runs from 112 balls; his form had deserted him. Add to that the pressure of captaincy of Lucknow Super Giants; after being bought for ₹27 crore, surely it is affecting him. Rishabh Pant is the most ugly & worse batter ever to hold bat in white ball😭😭 pic.twitter.com/9oncFjYF1B — Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) May 4, 2025 With the playoff hopes of LSG bleeding fast, Pant has failed to keep up even with his own standards. Instead of being the difference, he has become a liability. Pant found himself ranked fourth from the bottom in MVP standings at number 177 in the league before his latest meltdown against Punjab Kings in Dharamshala, by ESPNcricinfo. That ranking is no lesser after the PBKS match. In an almost impossible chase of 237 runs, Pant arrived at the crease when the scorecard read 16/2 in 2.5 overs. He struggled to get going. A ramp shot from him failed, and he also could not put away any of the short deliveries from Yuzvendra Chahal. Read also: 'Remember the name': Suryakumar Yadav's post for Ayush Mhatre goes viral His frustrations erupted. He was heard shouting at Ayush Badoni for not running impossible singles and, weirdly, tried to scamper runs off wide balls in the 8th over. Next delivery, swing so hard, the bat slipped out of his hands, and he was caught.