Indian cricket team wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant has been appointed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Pant, who has previously captained Delhi Capitals in the competition, was bought by LSG for a record Rs 27 crore. Pant was the DC skipper in 2021, 2022 and 2024 but he decided to part ways with the franchise ahead of the new season. Pant became the costliest player to be sold in the history of IPL auctions following a bidding war between LSG and DC. While DC used their Right To Match (RTM), LSG clinched the deal with a record bid.

“Rishabh Pant will not only be the most valuable player of IPL but the best player,” LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka said on Monday.

He will now be LSG’s fourth captain in their history of playing in the IPL after KL Rahul, Nicholas Pooran and Krunal Pandya.

After making the playoffs in the IPL 2022 and 2023 seasons, LSG missed the playoffs for the first time in 2024, as they finished seventh on the points table with a poor net run rate.

This will be the second IPL team Pant will be captaining after leading Delhi Capitals (DC).

Pant had been DC’s captain from 2021 to 2024 editions of the IPL, barring the 2023 season, which he missed due to recovery from various injuries sustained in a car accident in December 2022.

But ahead of the IPL 2025 retention deadline, he was released by DC, with the leadership role being the main reason behind his nine-year association with the franchise ending on October 31.

At LSG, Pant will work with head coach Justin Langer, whom he met during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, and team mentor Zaheer Khan. In the batting department, Pant will be joined by Nicholas Pooran, David Miller, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, as well as Ayush Badoni, Aryan Juyal, Abdul Samad and Himmat Singh.

In the bowling department, he will have the services of Indian seamers Akash Deep and Avesh Khan, alongside previously retained players Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, and Mohsin Khan, among others.

(With IANS inputs)

On-field spat between Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq© X (Twitter)

File photo of Sanjiv Goenka and Rohit Sharma© Twitter

Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka called K.L. Rahul an integral part of the franchise. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka on Wednesday (August 28, 2024) called K.L. Rahul “an integral part of the franchise” amid speculations around his future in the team but remained evasive on player retention and captaincy for next IPL season.

Mr. Goenka’s animated discussion with Rahul after a heavy defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad had become one of the talking points of last season’s IPL.

Also Read: Not panicking, but we will have difficult conversations: K.L. Rahul

On Monday (August 26, 2024), Rahul met the team owner in Kolkata and expressed his wish to remain in the team, months after the video of the discussion between the two sparked speculations on whether the elegant India batter would want to continue his stint at the franchise.

“Look, I’ve been meeting K.L. regularly over last three years. I’m a little surprised this meeting got so much attention. As I’ve said we have not taken any call till the retention rules are out,” Mr. Goenka told reporters while unveiling Zaheer Khan as their team mentor.

Also Read: K.L. Rahul opens up on incident which “scarred him massively”

“But KL has been an integral and important part of the LSG family since inception. He’s played a very important role. He’s like family and will be family.” When asked about player retention and captaincy, Goenka said they are yet to arrive at a decision and are waiting for the BCCI to release the rules regarding retention.

“We have all of September, October, and November to decide that. Let the policies be out. We have not even thought about the team going forward, whether retention will be three-four-five or six, we have no clue,” Mr. Goenka said.

“Let us see, there is enough time, so bit by bit. Whatever decisions we take today will impact us for the medium-term future, so it has to be very well thought out and considered.

“There is enough time for it so it’s too early. Let the BCCI announce the policy first, then there will be discussions.” Asked whether they are going to press the “reset mode” under the newly-appointed mentor Zaheer, he said: “You always try and improve and that is a constant endeavour. When you have a mega auction, there is bound to be a reset but you want to retain the core as much as possible you can. Let’s see how it goes.

“One doesn’t know which way what goes. Certainly, the coach (Justin Langer) continues, Lance Kluesener (assistant coach), and Jonty Rhodes (fielding coach) also continue. We are delighted for Morne Morkel and Gautam Gambhir, very pleased they have joined the national team,” Goenka said.

Rahul led LSG to play offs in first two seasons but it is still widely believed that Gambhir’s strategic acumen had a lot to do with it rather than his leadership, which got thoroughly exposed in third season, when they failed to make the last four.

Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants’ IPL 2024 campaign ended on Friday. Both teams could not qualify for the playoffs. For Mumbai Indians, the removal of Rohit Sharma became a news and its impact hounded them till the last match. Current captain Hardik Pandya was booed and clearly he didn’t enjoy the support of the MI fans. For LSG, though they came close to the playoffs, an animated discussion between owner Sanjiv Goenka and skipper KL Rahul garnered a lot of negative publicity.

In their last game, LSG beat MI in the teams’ last match of the IPL 2024. Post that, Goenka had a lengthy chat with Rohit. The visuals of it started speculation on the internet. 

There has been speculation that Rohit might leave MI this year.

Sanjiv Goenka asked Rohit Sharma mobile number and saved his number. What’s cooking here??

Rohit Sharma in LSG… #RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/sPN27HitWv

— Mufa Kohli (@MufaKohli) May 17, 2024

Sanjiv Goenka inviting Rohit Sharma for Dinner at his home and Rohit Sharma can’t deny. #rohitsharma pic.twitter.com/KhUArnuLwb

— Mufa Kohli (@MufaKohli) May 17, 2024

Sanjiv Goenka having a conversation with Rohit Sharma. #RohitSharma #MIvsLSG pic.twitter.com/RjTTqwhSqh

— Shamim. (@ShamimCricSight) May 17, 2024

Rohit Sharma with LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka . pic.twitter.com/afIZZFYEKn

— Vishal. (@SPORTYVISHAL) May 17, 2024

Rohit Sharma admitted he could not live up to the batting standards expected from him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 for Mumbai Indians, adding that despite his poor outing, his focus was to be in the right zone and work to iron out his flaws. Rohit, who was replaced by Hardik Pandya as MI’s skipper ahead of the 2024 season, ended his tournament with a stunning 38-ball 68. Overall, Rohit amassed 417 runs in 14 innings at an average of 32.08 and a strike-rate of 150, including a century and fifty.

“As a batter, I know I didn’t live up to the standard. But, after playing for all these years, I know that if I overthink, I won’t play well. All I try is to stay in a good mindset, in the right zone, keep practicing, and improve on all the flaws in my game. That’s all I kept doing,” Rohit told JioCinema.

MI had a below-par time in IPL 2024, ending with an 18-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday, to conclude their season at the bottom of the points table.

“Our season didn’t go according to plan. We blame ourselves for this because we made too many mistakes during the season. We lost many games that we should have won, but that’s the nature of the IPL. You get a few chances and when those chances come, you must grab them,” added Rohit.

His next assignment will be to captain India in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. India will play their only warm-up match against Bangladesh on June 1, before opening their campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the 34,000-seat modular Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

With IANS inputs

IPL 2024: Sanjiv Goenka with KL Rahul after the DC vs LSG match.© X (Twitter)