LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka clarified his stance on a viral meme involving Pant and Rahul, sharing his leadership philosophy for IPL 2025.
LSG Owner Sanjiv Goenka Responds to Viral Meme
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka addressed a viral meme featuring Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul after the IPL 2025 mega auction.
The meme humorously depicted Pant as dealing with a “tough boss,” a reference to Goenka’s intense personality.
However, Goenka dismissed the notion of being toxic, stating he balances love, care, and discipline in his leadership.
Goenka explained his approach, saying, “No no, not at all. Nothing like that at all. This is not about vanity at all. Ego nahi hai [There’s no ego here]. I did not have that in mind at all. We had structured the auction in a certain way and Pant was an integral part of our plans. We had done some budgeting for him…. This was not about one individual player. It was not about one ego. Did we want to have the most expensive player? No. At the end of the day, this does not mean very much to the franchise. Eventually, it is about performance and how the team balance looks,” Goenka was quoted as saying.
He emphasized that his tough demeanor is aimed at helping players improve and perform better under pressure.
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Why LSG Bid INR 27 Crore for Pant
The LSG owner also justified the record-breaking INR 27 crore spent on Rishabh Pant.
He clarified that the decision was not driven by ego or vanity but by strategic planning.
“We had allocated a significant budget for Rishabh Pant, given his integral role in our plans,” Goenka shared.
He highlighted that the team anticipated competition from Delhi Capitals, especially with their use of the Right to Match (RTM) card. “We had a sense that Delhi Capitals will try to exercise RTM. They went up to INR 26.50 crore for Shreyas Iyer and Punjab got him at INR 26.75. That was the budget they had for their No. 1 player. I felt that they will go up to INR 26.75 for Pant too. If I wanted Rishabh, it had to be INR 27 crore,” he added.
Goenka reiterated that the franchise focuses on overall team balance rather than individual accolades.
He concluded by saying that the investment in Pant reflects the team’s belief in his potential to lead them to IPL glory.
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