New Delhi: Sanjiv Goenka, owner of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), announced that the team has selected a new captain, with an official announcement expected in the coming days ahead of the IPL 2025 season.
KL Rahul captained LSG during the IPL 2022-24 cycle, with Krunal Pandya stepping in when Rahul was sidelined for part of IPL 2023. However, the franchise opted not to retain either player before the mega auction held in Jeddah last month. Rahul has since joined the Delhi Capitals, while Krunal is now with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Goenka mentioned that LSG has several strong leadership candidates, including former Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant, current T20I skippers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram from Australia and South Africa, respectively, as well as West Indies keeper-batter Nicholas Pooran, who has prior captaincy experience with his national team.
“People tend to be surprised easily, but I don’t think you are. It’s been decided, and we’ll announce it soon. We have four strong leaders in our squad: Rishabh, Pooran, Markram, and Mitch Marsh,” said Goenka in a video on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel. He emphasized that these players bring a wealth of intellect and strategy to the team, with Rishabh’s passion for winning standing out.
LSG retained Pooran for Rs 21 crore and also kept Mayank Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi at Rs 11 crore each, along with uncapped players Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan for Rs 4 crore each. They made headlines by signing Pant for Rs 27 crore, marking him as the most expensive player in IPL history.
Goenka expressed satisfaction with the team’s auction strategy, focusing on strengthening the middle order and finishing capabilities. He noted the decision to build an Indian pace attack while acquiring explosive international batsmen.
The opening combination among Markram, Marsh, and Pant will be determined by the new captain, coach Justin Langer, and mentor Zaheer Khan. Goenka remarked that although he had aspirations for the auction, such as pursuing Jos Buttler, the process didn’t go exactly as planned. He trusts that Zaheer, Langer, and the new captain will collaborate to make the best decisions moving forward, stating, “Whatever their call is, I will support it 100 percent.”