Rishabh Pant has been chosen as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for IPL 2025. He was also the highest-paid player at the November 2024 mega auction, with LSG securing him for INR 27 crore (US$ 3.21 million approx.).
India’s KL Rahul, who has been leading LSG since 2022, helped them reach the playoffs in their initial two years but unfortunately, they fell short of making it to the final. However, their performance took a downward turn in 2024 as they came in seventh on the table.
Pant finds himself in a familiar role as captain for his second franchise. It was his leadership position that caused complications with Delhi Capitals (DC); after unsuccessful negotiations, Pant chose to enter the auction rather than stay with DC, who expressed interest in retaining him but were not fully dedicated to making him their captain.
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Prior to the auction, LSG decided to hold onto a group of five players including Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan.
In their search for a new captain to replace Rahul, they had their sights set on an Indian player. Specifically, Pant and Iyer were at the forefront of their considerations. And during the auction, they secured Pant for a whopping INR 20.75 crore after a heated bidding war with SRH. They then upped the ante to 27 crore to fend off DC’s right-to-match challenge.
Pant, who joined DC in 2016, assumed the role of captaincy starting from IPL 2021. He remained at the helm except for the 2023 season due to an injury sustained in a life-threatening car accident in December 2022.
Pant will also have the support of several international batters, such as David Miller, Mitchell Marsh, and Aiden Markram, as well as Indian seamers Akash Deep and Avesh Khan, among other talented players who make up the newly reconstructed LSG team. Notably, Pooran, Marsh, Markram, and Miller were all considered potential captaincy choices following the conclusion of the auction.
Pant will now collaborate closely with head coach Justin Langer, whom he engaged with both on and off the sidelines during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, as well as new team mentor Zaheer Khan.
