The franchise that managed to make a bold move at the IPL auction by buying Rishabh Pant, the costliest player till date, the Lucknow Super Giants are set to announce the Indian star wicketkeeper as their captain on Monday. Owner Sanjiv Goenka has hinted at a ‘special’ media interaction of the IPL franchise, underlining that jersey unveiling is also on the schedule. This would be the second stint as a captain in the IPL for Pant, who has been sold to LSG for Rs 27 crore.
The captaincy, which had became a matter of contention in his old franchise, the Delhi Capitals, saw Pant walk out of DC’s retention plans after unsuccessful negotiations.
DC broke a deal with Pant regarding future captaincy, leaving the franchise with no choice but to enter the auctions.
Initially captained by KL Rahul, LSG became a successful run to the playoffs in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, yet crashed out of the final stage in both instances as well.
The 2024 season, however, was a setback, with LSG finishing seventh in the points table.
The Goenka-owned franchise retained Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni, and Mohsin Khan but were still looking for an Indian leader to lead in place of Rahul.
They paid Rs 27 crore for Pant at the auction after having to outbid Delhi Capitals’ right-to-match card, upping the ante after pipping their bid of Rs 20.75 crore.
Pant was appointed captain of DC in 2021, remained leader until 2023, and had been in the side since 2016 before a close-to-fatal car accident kept him from playing since December 2022.
In the new set-up Pant will also get support from players like Nicholas pooran,Miller , Marsh and Aiden Markam. These players were also seen as the potential skipper for LSG after the conclusion of the mega auction
Pant will also get support and assistance from Head coach Justin Langar and team India’s legendry pace bowler Zaheer Khan who’s appointed as the new Mentor of the team.