After nine years of running and Delhi Capitals in Indian Premier League (IPL)star wicket-keeping batting Rishabh Pant was released by the Capitals ahead of the massive IPL 2025 auction. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)a new entrant in IPL grabbed Pant and bought him for a fee of INR 27 crores. However, the whole process of this big signing was not as smooth as it seems. Pant himself was surrounded by speculation and reservations before the sale as he revealed the franchise he thought would buy him the season.
Rishabh Pant opens his new franchise ahead of big sales
In a special discussion, owner LSG Sanjiv Goenka announced that Pant is their new captain in the upcoming season. The franchise was previously led by KL Rahul before releasing him after a disappointing end to their previous campaign under him. Pant will now lead the star-studded LSG team in IPL 2025 David Miller, Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Aiden Markram and many others.
However, it was during this announcement that Pant revealed that his ideas had not yet been sold. According to Pant, he compared the two teams that would go for the 27-year-old blaster and his opinion was not far from reality.
“Mereko andar se ek hi tension tha, woh tha Punjab (I had only one problem from within and it was Punjab). The second highest (bag) was 82 crore. Punjab had 112 crore. When Shreyas (Iyer) went there, then I thought I could go to LSG. I thought there was a possibility,” Pant said while talking to Star Sports.
Also Read: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) appoints Rishabh Pant as captain for IPL 2025
Pant paid before the IPL season
Also in his discussion with Hotstar imagesPant also spoke about how he felt after being named LSG's captain before the season and expressed his commitment to the game.
“Awesome. Right now, I have only one word: I'm overwhelmed. As a player, when the owner supports you in that way and supports you, your level of trust and commitment goes 200%,” A new director of LSG has been added.
LSG owner Goenka also spoke about the preparations that went into buying Pant from LSG, and also spoke about the confidence he had in his decision to bring the player to his team.
“I wanted to get Rishabh Pant, that was the end. I didn't care about others and their opinion on the team that wanted Pant. I was confident that I wanted to get Rishabh Pant, and I knew that no one could match what I wanted. I wasn't under any pressure. But we wanted Rishabh no matter what, regardless of the cost, ” Goenka said.