IPL franchise LSG’s owner Sanjiv Goenka opens on his plan to take India’s star wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant during the mega auction. Rishabh Pant made history by becoming the most expensive player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history, with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) acquiring him for a mammoth price of Rs 27 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction. An intense bidding war took place between LSG and Sunrisers Hyderabad, but the Sanjiv Goenka-owned team won with an initial bid of Rs 20.75 crore. Delhi Capitals then exercised their Right To Match (RTM) card, forcing LSG to finally secure Pant for Rs 27 crore.
Goenka discusses Pant’s strategic purchase
Sanjiv Goenka explained that purchasing Rishabh Pant fit within the franchise’s budget plans for the star wicketkeeper-batter. He emphasised that ego was not a factor in their aggressive bidding strategy. Goenka told Cricbuzz, “No, not at all. This is not about vanity. Ego nahi hai [There’s no ego here]. We had planned the auction with Pant as a key part of our strategy and budgeted accordingly.”
Team strategy beyond Pant
Goenka highlighted that the auction was not focused on acquiring the most expensive player but rather on building a balanced team. LSG aimed to get two Indian fast bowlers, spending INR 9.75 crore on Avesh Khan and INR 8 crore on Akash Deep, after missing out on Bhuvneshwar Kumar. “At the end of the day, performance and team balance matter the most,” Goenka stated.
Building the LSG squad
In addition to Pant, LSG purchased 19 players in the auction, while retaining Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, and Ayush Badoni. Pant was by far their priciest acquisition, with Avesh Khan and Akash Deep as the second and third costliest buys. Given the relatively weaker opening pair of Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, Pant and Pooran will bear big responsibility for the team’s performance.
LSG squad for IPL 2025
- Batters: David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Aryan Juyal
- Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran
- All-rounders: Abdul Samad, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Yuvraj Choudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Aiden Markram
- Fast bowlers: Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Mohsin Khan, Shamar Joseph, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav
- Spinners: Ravi Bishnoi, M Siddharth, Digvesh Singh
