Owner of Lucknow Super Giants, Sanjiv Goenka has shortlisted four leaders, one of which is Rishabh Pant.
Amid speculations that Rishabh Pant could be the new captain of the Lucknow Super Giants at IPL 2025, franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka offered a fresh twist into the tale when he termed Pant and three other players – Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram as ‘leaders of the team’. Pant, bought for ₹27 crore by LSG, created history at the IPL 2025 mega auction, becoming the costliest player ever, and the belief was that with LSG in need of a captain following KL Rahul’s departure, the India wicketkeeper would be the most ideal candidate for the post.
Rishabh Pant is likely to be named captain of Lucknow Super Giants(AFP)
But while it may indeed be true, the decision is still under wraps, with Goenka maintaining suspense. His stance on LSG’s captaincy reveal hasn’t budged since last week, as he promises to ‘announce it soon’, but the mentions of Markram (bought for ₹2 crore), Marsh ( ₹3.4 crore) and Pooran (retained for ₹21 crore) are certain to add layers to the public curiosity before the big reveal.
Top 15 buys at IPL 2025 Auction Share Via Copy Link Rishabh Pant ₹ 27 Cr DC LSG
Total Match
111
Total Runs
3284
Highest Score
128 runs
Shreyas Iyer ₹ 26.75 Cr KKR PBKS
Total Match
115
Total Runs
3127
Highest Score
96 runs
Venkatesh Iyer ₹ 23.75 Cr KKR KKR
Total Match
50
Total Runs
1326
Highest Score
104 runs
Wickets
3
Best Bowling
2/29
Arshdeep Singh ₹ 18 Cr PBKS PBKS
Total Match
65
Total Runs
29
Highest Score
10 runs
Wickets
76
Best Bowling
5/32
Yuzvendra Chahal ₹ 18 Cr RR PBKS
Total Match
260
Total Runs
37
Highest Score
8 runs
Wickets
205
Best Bowling
5/40
Jos Buttler ₹ 15.75 Cr RR GT
Total Match
107
Total Runs
3582
Highest Score
124 runs
KL Rahul ₹ 14 Cr LSG DC
Total Match
132
Total Runs
4683
Highest Score
132 runs
Trent Boult ₹ 12.50 Cr RR MI
Total Match
104
Total Runs
83
Highest Score
17 runs
Wickets
121
Best Bowling
4/18
Jofra Archer ₹ 12.50 Cr MI RR
Total Match
35
Total Runs
195
Highest Score
27 runs
Wickets
46
Best Bowling
3/15
Josh Hazlewood ₹ 12.50 Cr RCB RCB
Total Match
12
Total Runs
–
Highest Score
–
Wickets
12
Best Bowling
3/24
Mohammed Siraj ₹ 12.25 Cr RCB GT
Total Match
93
Total Runs
109
Highest Score
14 runs
Wickets
93
Best Bowling
4/21
Mitchell Starc ₹ 11.75 Cr KKR DC
Total Match
41
Total Runs
105
Highest Score
29 runs
Wickets
51
Best Bowling
4/15
Phil Salt ₹ 11.50 Cr DC RCB
Total Match
21
Total Runs
653
Highest Score
89 runs
Ishan Kishan ₹ 11.25 Cr MI SRH
Total Match
105
Total Runs
2644
Highest Score
99 runs
Wickets
–
Best Bowling
–
Jitesh Sharma ₹ 11 Cr PBKS RCB
Total Match
40
Total Runs
730
Highest Score
49 runs
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“Our internal feeling is that our auction was excellent. Our focus was that our middle order and finishing should be extremely strong. Our No. 3 to No. 8 is very strong. Our second wish was to go with a completely Indian pace attack instead of international pace, and explosive international batters. Now we have got a combination of the two,” Goenka told Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.
“We have four leaders in our team – Rishabh, Pooran, Markram and Mitch Marsh. So it becomes a very strong leadership pool of intellect and thought, and strategy. They are all people who can go with the mindset to win. Rishabh has the hunger and passion to win. So a good team has been built. We are happy. Overall, the balance is also okay and no team is 10 on 10.”
What was it about Rishabh Pant that caught Sanjiv Goenka’s eyes
Pant, always expected to be one of the top picks, lived up to the hype, but the one thing that caught Goenka’s attention more than anything else was his game involvement and tactics. Goenka and Rahul’s fallout is no secret, and one of the reasons behind the two drifting apart was the owner’s lack of faith in his former captain’s leadership skills. With Pant’s theatrics having created a niche of its own, Goenka says he wanted someone with colour, ideas and the ability to make things happen.
“I saw a video of Rishabh where he did dramebaazi (acting) on the field. He slowed the momentum. I liked that attitude a lot, that you have that extra thought to change the momentum when everything was going against us by removing the pads. From that time, I had in my mind that if only Rishabh had been in my team,” he said.
“That one thing of his appealed to me a lot. Along with that, he came back from a near-fatal injury, and he has come back to a form which is better than his original form. So that resilience and ability to fight and rise again matter a lot. Rishabh is 27. So I hope he will be with LSG for the next 10-12 years.”
