Was Rishabh Pant an ego buy at Lucknow Super Giants during IPL auction? LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka breaks silence

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka revealed that spending ₹27 crore on Rishabh Pant during IPL 2025 mega auction wasn't about ego but much more of what the player brings on the table. Pant went into record books by becoming the costliest player in the history of the Indian Premier League. Pant's price eclipsed ₹26/75 crore spent on Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings) and ₹23.75 crore on Venkatesh Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders).

Overall, LSG acquired 19 players at the auction table that included some of the biggest names in world cricket - David Miller, Mitchell Marsh, Akash Deep and Aiden Markram - in addition to the five players they have retained last month. With Rishabh Pant coming on board, the former Delhi Capitals is likely to lead LSG in the upcoming season.

Sanjiv Goenka reiterated that the price tag doesn't matter much to the franchise at the end of the day. "This was not about one individual player. It was not about egos. Did we want to have the most expensive player? No. At the end of the day, this does not mean very much to the franchise," Goenka told Cricbuzz.

What made Goenka go all out for Pant was his never-say-die attitude both on and off the field. The 27-year-old suffered a near fatal car accident on December 30, 2022 and had to spend 14 months outside f the field. When he returned, Pant led Delhi Capitals to a sixth-place finish in IPL 2024 and played a crucial role in India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in Barbados.

In fact, Pant was the only positive in India's 0-3 drubbing at the hands of New Zealand at home. He scored 250 runs in six innings. Prior to that, the southpaw scored a century against Bangladesh in Chennai.

"It is about somebody who brings dynamism, a never-say-die attitude. The very fact that he recovered from a near-fatal accident and came back to top form shows his resilience and determination. That is the kind of attitude we want. We want people who have an appetite to win and have a track record of winning," said Goenka.

Goenka keeps mum on LSG leadership

Asked about the captaincy at LSG, Goenka chose to remain tight-lipped. "Bataunga, bataunga, very soon. (I’ll let you know). Let the auction get over and we will tell you. Will inform you all very soon," Goenka said with a smile on his face.