Former Australia head coach Justin Langer who is currently working as a head coach for Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) said that India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant in his mate now during Day 1 of the second Test match between India vs Australia. Notably, Pant was recently bought by Lucknow for a whopping Rs 27 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
At this point of time, the India wicketkeeper batter is currently the front-runner to become Lucknow’s captain after they released former skipper KL Rahul before the auction. Hence, the India star will be seen working closely with Langer in his upcoming IPL stint. As a result, the former Australia cricketer called him his mate as he walked out to bat during the first session on Day 1. Langer also recalled how Pant haunted him with his knocks on the previous tours of Australia but mentioned that now both will be mates after LSG bought him.
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"Rishabh Pant has haunted me the most from the last two series. Now a week ago, I hope he’s my favourite person in the world with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) picking him. Now he’s my mate not my nemesis,” said Langer on air.
Pant was one of the standout performers for India during their last Australia tour in 2020-21. The left-handed wicketkeeper batter scored 96 on Day 5 of the third Test in Sydney which kept India in the hunt of the humongous target they were chasing. They eventually managed to draw the game which kept the series tied 1-1 heading into the last Test at the Gabba, Brisbane.
In the next Test match, the southpaw played a match-winning knock of 89 in Brisbane helping India chase down a massive target of 328 on the final day in Brisbane. Because of Pant's inning India managed to beat Australia after 32 years in Brisbane and won their second consecutive Test series in Australia with both coming with Langer as Australia’s head coach. Following his knock in Brisbane, Langer praised Pant saying that it reminded him of Ben Stokes’ Headingley innings from the 2019 Ashes.
