Rishabh Pant has been officially appointed as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants for the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pant, who formerly captained Delhi Capitals, chose to enter the auction ahead of the 18th season of the competition and became the most expensive buy in IPL history, with the Super Giants securing the left-handed wicketkeeper-batter for a record-breaking INR 27 Crore.
“I would like to say personal thank you to (Sanjiv Goenka, team owner), thank you sir, thank you for having me, and whole LSG management for showing the faith in me. I will give my 200% and that’s my commitment to you,” Pant said at the press conference organised at the RPSG House in Kolkata on Monday (January 20). “And I will try whatever it’s in my power to repay this faith which you have shown. And really excited to be part of the team. And looking forward to a new beginning, with new energy, and just have a blast out there.”
The Super Giants started the bidding for Pant who entered the auction at a base price of INR 2 Crore. Seeing off challenges from Royal Challengers Bengaluru first and then Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Super Giants bid INR 20.75 Crore, which was matched by the Capitals who used the RTM. The Super Giants then hiked the price to INR 27 Crore, as per the new IPL auction rules which allowed the original bidder to raise the price after the use of RTM card, to sign the 27-year old Pant.
The Super Giants were on the lookout for a captain, preferably an Indian name, having let go of KL Rahul. Pant was Super Giants’ first buy in the auction and they went about building a new-look squad whose key strength is an India-dominated pace attack.
The Super Giants, having retained Nicholas Pooran (21 Cr), Ravi Bishnoi (11 Cr), Mayank Yadav (11 Cr), Mohsin Khan (4 Cr) and Ayush Badoni (4 Cr), roped in some big names like Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and David Miller among their overseas buys while they added more strength to their pace department with the inclusions of Avesh Khan (9.75 Cr) and Akash Deep (8 Cr). However, they will rely largely on the overseas names in the batting department, including the top order.
“Definitely happy with the team,” Pant insisted. “We have a mix of youth and experienced players. And for me also personally, like you said, we haven’t been through there where we wanted to be. But that’s the journey, that’s why we all are together at the same time. All together, how can we take this franchise to newer heights, to newer beginnings. And that’s the idea behind this collab, I would say. Let’s take it together to a different height and just be on the journey together,” added Pant.
Super Giants is the second IPL team that Pant will lead, having captained the Capitals from IPL 2021 until the previous season. Pant, however, missed the full 2023 IPL season while recovering from a life-threatening road accident.
“I have learned from a lot of captains. A lot of my seniors…I think there’s a lot of learning to be learned from all the seniors, not just the captain. But it’s difficult to be very specific (about the learnings). With Rohit [Sharma] bhai, you’ve learned how to care for a player. Because I feel, and I feel the same when I captain a side, I feel if you give confidence and trust to a player, he will do things which you can’t even imagine for you and for the team.
“And that’s the kind of ideology we like to have. We’ll back the players, we’ll try to give them trust, we’ll have a clear communication, what kind of role we want to work for them. And that’s the idea. And one thing is that never die attitude. You fight till the last ball. And that is something I always emphasize on that. Performance will come and go.”
Pant will now join hands with head coach Justin Langer and mentor Zaheer Khan to chart a new course for the Super Giants in the upcoming IPL cycle. Zaheer, who had led the Delhi Daredevils team a few years back, recollected sharing the dressing room with a 19-year old Pant.
“I remember you walking in that Delhi Daredevils dressing room just after under-19 India stint. And I was leading Delhi Daredevils at that time. To see you grow as a fine cricketer through your ups and downs, and growing into such a batter, such a cricketer, which is setting new standards, looking at the game differently, inspiring a new style of play, is something which is very, very commendable.
“Just want to wish you all the luck with this franchise. Together we have lots to achieve. And you personally have a lot to give to this beautiful game of cricket. So we will be able to embark on this journey with a lot of hopes and aspirations,” said Zaheer who also stressed on adopting a fearless brand of cricket to define the team.
“With the support of such a great owner, Mr. Goenka, who is so motivated to give LSG the platform, the freedom to express ourselves and go out and achieve good things for this team. So we have a brand to build. And LSG, for all you guys, is going to be an outfit which is going to play some fearless cricket, some exciting cricket, and is definitely going to be a team to look up to in coming years.
“So that’s the journey we are on. And we want all your support in that journey. We want more and more people to connect with this franchise, start following it, love the franchise, give all the love. And we will earn all the respect and love of yours through our performances on the field, through our actions on the field, as a team. That’s what we are hoping for,” said the former left-arm pacer.
Meanwhile, Goenka, who is also the owner of Mohun Bagan Super Giant, wants the Lucknow franchise to emulate the success of the football team. He also spoke about successful teams like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, as the benchmark for the IPL.
“Very hopeful,” Goenka said about the chances of the Super Giants. “You would remember that a few seasons ago, many of you were writing off Mohan Bagan. You were writing off our team. We came back. We came back with a vengeance. Likewise, believe in us (Super Giants). Support us. And I assure you that LSG will not disappoint you.
“You know, you take inspiration from everyone who is successful. Look at Mumbai Indians. Look at CSK. Look at the way they have gone about their business. Look at the consistency that they have got. The stability that they have got. The motivation that Rohit and Mahi [MS Dhoni] bring to the team. So we have to learn from that. And you learn every day. You make mistakes, you learn from them. You fall down, stand up, run faster. So yes, the attempt is to delight our fans. Hopefully, we will not be found wanting.”
© Cricbuzz
