Shashwat Goenka, the son of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka, said that bringing star India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant to the franchise for Rs 27 crore was a plan and they put in such a big amount so that Delhi Capitals (DC) could not use their ‘Right to Match’ card to retain his services. Pant became the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), being bought by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a massive Rs 27 crores during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction at Jeddah on Sunday.
Speaking after the successful bid, Shashwat said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, “No matter how much you plan, things do not always work out like that. This (getting Pant for 27 crore) was very well to our plan. It was not really a magic number, we just wanted a number so that the RTM does not get exercised.”
LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka also opened up on Pant’s acquisition, saying: “Well, this was part of our plan. Rishabh was on the list, we had kept Rs crore for him. 27 was slightly up. But, we are very happy that we have him. He is an outstanding player, a match-winner. Fans should be very very happy to have him as part of LSG.”
Pant beat compatriot Shreyas Iyer, who had just become the most expensive player in league’s history, going to Punjab Kings (PBKS) for Rs 26.75 crores a few minutes back. He had beat Australia’s Mitchell Starc, who marked his return to IPL after years with a record-breaking bid of Rs 24.75 crores.
Initially, there was a bidding war between LSG and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), with the latter giving up. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) entered the bidding war, trying to bolster their explosive batting attack and Delhi Capitals (DC) tried to use the ‘Right To Match’ card, but they could not match the value LSG put for Pant, breaking the bank for him and going beyond Iyer’s value.
“THE RECORD IS BROKEN AGAIN! WOWZAAA Rishabh Pant goes to @LucknowIPL for INR 27 Crore! #TATAIPLAuction,” IPL said in a post on X.
With this, LSG has finally received a proper top-order batter, wicketkeeper and captaincy option in Pant.
The swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter is an all-format for India and a livewire on the field. Having proven himself as a man for big stages in Test cricket, Pant’s T20 game is just as solid. Though he has scored 1,209 runs in 76 T20Is at an underwhelming average of 23.25, strike rate of almost 128 and just three fifties, his overall T20 numbers are way better, having made 5,022 runs in 202 matches at an average of 31.78, strike rate of over 145, with two centuries and 25 fifties.
Pant has represented Delhi Capitals (DC) for his entire IPL career since 2016, scoring 3,284 runs in 110 matches at an average of 35.31, with a century and 18 fifties. He was appointed as the team’s captain in 2021 and led them to playoffs in the same season.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction from Sunday to Monday is all set to be two of the most intriguing days of this year’s cricketing calendar, with several international stars having entered the auction, records expected to be broken and the possibility of some unexpected crossovers.
A total of 574 players have been shortlisted from an initial pool of 1,574 names. These players will go under the hammer from November 24-25 in Jeddah. The list includes 208 overseas players, 12 uncapped overseas talents, and 318 uncapped Indian players.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)