By Karan Agrawal 
Wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant will lead Lucknow Super Giants in the upcoming season of IPL announced Sanjiv Goenka the co-owner of the Lucknow Super Giants on Monday. Rishabh who was picked up by the Lucknow franchisee in the auction last year for a whopping amount of 27 crores had previously led the Delhi Capitals in three seasons of the league and guided them to their third successive playoffs when he captained the team for the first time in 2021.
The Performance
Rishabh Pant has played more than 100 matches in the IPL, having made his debut in the 2016 edition of the cash-rich league. The left-hander has played 111 IPL matches so far and has scored more than 3000 runs, including a century and an innings of 128 runs, which he played against the Sunrisers Hyderabad during the 11th season of the league.
The Decision
Talking about the appointment of Rishabh Pant as Lucknow’s captain, Sanjeev Goenka, the franchise co-owner, said that it was a no-brainer to appoint Rishabh as the captain from the time he was picked by LSG in the auction. “I think Rishabh Pant is going to finish as one of the best IPL captains ever. In 10-12 years, you would hear his name associated with MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma,” Goenka said.
The Successor
Rishabh will succeed KL Rahul as the captain of the Super Giants, who has led the team since its debut in 2022. Under the leadership of KL Rahul Lucknow, the Super Giants qualified for two successive playoffs in 2022 and 2023. But things went downhill when the franchisee witnessed a change in personnel with former Ashes-winning Australian coach Justin Langer joining the team as head coach in the last edition of the league.
The Change
The duo of KL Rahul and Justin Langer were unable to repeat the success the team achieved in the first couple of years as LSG finished the season at number seven in the points table. The effect of a dip in the on-field performance was reflected off the field as well and the co-owner Sanjeev Goenka was seen having an animated chat with KL Rahul after a loss in one of the matches last season.