Amid speculations that Rishabh Pant could be the new captain of the Lucknow Super Giants at IPL 2025, franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka offered a fresh twist into the tale when he termed Pant and three other players – Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram as 'leaders of the team'. Pant, bought for ₹27 crore by LSG, created history at the IPL 2025 mega auction, becoming the costliest player ever, and the belief was that with LSG in need of a captain following KL Rahul's departure, the India wicketkeeper would be the most ideal candidate for the post.

But while it may indeed be true, the decision is still under wraps, with Goenka maintaining suspense. His stance on LSG's captaincy reveal hasn't budged since last week, as he promises to 'announce it soon', but the mentions of Markram (bought for ₹2 crore), Marsh ( ₹3.4 crore) and Pooran (retained for ₹21 crore) are certain to add layers to the public curiosity before the big reveal.

"Our internal feeling is that our auction was excellent. Our focus was that our middle order and finishing should be extremely strong. Our No. 3 to No. 8 is very strong. Our second wish was to go with a completely Indian pace attack instead of international pace, and explosive international batters. Now we have got a combination of the two," Goenka told Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.

"We have four leaders in our team - Rishabh, Pooran, Markram and Mitch Marsh. So it becomes a very strong leadership pool of intellect and thought, and strategy. They are all people who can go with the mindset to win. Rishabh has the hunger and passion to win. So a good team has been built. We are happy. Overall, the balance is also okay and no team is 10 on 10."

What was it about Rishabh Pant that caught Sanjiv Goenka's eyes

Pant, always expected to be one of the top picks, lived up to the hype, but the one thing that caught Goenka's attention more than anything else was his game involvement and tactics. Goenka and Rahul's fallout is no secret, and one of the reasons behind the two drifting apart was the owner's lack of faith in his former captain's leadership skills. With Pant's theatrics having created a niche of its own, Goenka says he wanted someone with colour, ideas and the ability to make things happen.

"I saw a video of Rishabh where he did dramebaazi (acting) on the field. He slowed the momentum. I liked that attitude a lot, that you have that extra thought to change the momentum when everything was going against us by removing the pads. From that time, I had in my mind that if only Rishabh Pant had been in my team," he said.

"That one thing of his appealed to me a lot. Along with that, he came back from a near-fatal injury, and he has come back to a form which is better than his original form. So that resilience and ability to fight and rise again matter a lot. Rishabh is 27. So I hope he will be with LSG for the next 10-12 years."

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