Rishabh Pant, astutely probing Punjab Kings, said that he was worried about going to Punjab Kings in the mega auction IPL 2025. The wicketkeeper-batsman made the comment during an interview with Jatin Sapru on Star Sports.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka was also sitting next to Rishabh Pant. During the same interview, the Delhi star was also confirmed as the new captain of LSG. He has replaced his India teammate KL Rahul as the new captain of LSG.

Rishabh Pant was playing for Delhi Capitals since their inaugural IPL season in 2016. In 2021, he was also named the captain of the team. Since then, he led Delhi Capitals in every season except 2023, when he was sidelined after suffering serious injuries in a life-threatening car accident.

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Not many expected Rishabh Pant to register for the auction but he finally did so after failing to reach an agreement with Delhi Capitals. The hard-hitting batsman was expected to get a lucrative contract in the IPL 2025 mega auction and eventually ended up becoming the most expensive player in IPL history. LSG got his services for INR 27 crores.

Rishabh Pant analyzes Punjab Kings:

After being confirmed as captain of LSG, Rishabh Pant decided to give Punjab Kings a try, saying he was worried that the franchise might opt ​​for him. Since Punjab Kings had the highest purse, the former Delhi Capitals captain was sure that the franchise would be big for him in the auction.

However, before Pant was auctioned, Punjab Kings had signed IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer for INR 26.75 crore. While Pant did not reveal the reason for his concern about going to Punjab Kings, his comments made it clear that he did not want to go to the franchise and reunite with his former Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting.

“I only had one worry, and that was Punjab,” Rishabh Pant said before bursting into laughter.

“The second highest purse was Rs 82 crore (Royal Challengers Bengaluru had a purse of Rs 83 crore), while Punjab had Rs 112 crore (Rs 110.5 crore). So, initially, when “Shreyas went there, I felt like now I might end up going to LSG,” he added.

He actually said that, “ek hello tension, punjab” because of the bag they had.

— .💌 (@ssnoozefest) January 20, 2025

In the mega auction, LSG and RCB started the bidding for Pant. After RCB pulled out, Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to bid for the India star. The two franchises accepted the offer for INR 20.75 crore before SRH pulled out and Pant was sold to LSG.

However, Delhi Capitals decided to exercise their Right-to-Match (RTM) card in a bid to buy back their captain. As per the new rules, LSG was given another chance to raise the bid and the Lucknow-based franchise made a winning bid of INR 27 crore. As DC refused to match the offer, LSG finally secured Pant’s services for a record price.