The LSG owner and the team management were desperate to get Rishabh Pant at any price due to his superior skills.
Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) during the IPL 2025 auction. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) acquired him for a whopping INR 27 crore, and although Delhi Capitals (DC) used the Right To Match (RTM) card, that wasn’t enough to get him back.
The owner of LSG and the team management were desperate to get him at any price due to his superior skills. On Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel, Sanjiv Goenka revealed the reason why he pursued Pant, recalling a video he saw online.
“I saw a video of Rishabh where he was doing dramebaazi (acting) in the field. It slowed the momentum. I really liked that attitude, that you have that extra thought to change the momentum when everything was going against us by removing the pads. From then on, I had it in my mind that if only Rishabh had been in my team. That thing of his attracted me a lot.”
Goenka recalled the incident in the 2024 T20 World Cup final when Pant faked an injury to break South Africa’s momentum. That move finally worked for the Indian team when the game turned in their favor and they won the match.
Rishabh Pant: Lucknow Super Giants captaincy candidate
Another reason to sign Rishabh Pant could be his captaincy credentials as Rishabh Pant has captained an IPL franchise and India before. He knows how to advance the team in the competition and will be a captaincy option for the Super Giants.
LSG has four leadership candidates in its team: Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh. All of these players have led their teams or franchises before.
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Therefore, LSG will have a dilemma on who to choose as KL Rahul’s successor, but the logical decision will be to choose between Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran. Aiden is yet to decide his place in an IPL XI due to his inconsistent performances, while Marsh is injury prone and can crumble at any time.
If they choose Rishabh as their next captain, LSG will not have to use an overseas berth in the captaincy position. It will eventually be between Pant and Pooran, but whoever becomes captain, Pant will remain in the leadership group.
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