Follow UsOn expected lines, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) named Rishabh Pant as their new skipper on January 20 ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025 season. The franchise shelled INR 27 crore on day one of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, making him the costliest player in the tournament's history.
“Amazing. Right now, I just have one word: I’m overwhelmed. Just as a player, when your owner supports you in this way and helps you, your confidence level and commitment will go to 200%,” Pant said in an LSG special on Hotstar.
“That same frame of mindset will be with all the players. We would be looking to make the players feel the same way. Every time I talk to him, he’s made me feel the same way, he’s made me feel happy,” he added.
In the same chat, LSG’s owner, Sanjiv Goenka, revealed that the franchise was more than happy to pay INR 30 crores if the auction demanded it.
“I wanted to get Rishabh Pant, which was the endpoint. I didn’t care about others and their opinions on which team wanted Pant. I was confident I wanted to get Rishabh Pant, and I knew no one could match my bid. I was never stressed. But we wanted Rishabh at all costs, irrespective of the price,” Goenka said.
Eventually, LSG bagged the talented left-handed batter for just INR 27 crore after Punjab Kings had gone the other way, bidding huge for Shreyas Iyer, who they announced as captain.
“We were ready to go for Pant at any price; we kept 28 INR crore for him aside, and we would have increased that budget if it was the case,” he added.