Rishabh Pant: A Future IPL Captaincy Great?

cricket fans known about Rishabh Pant and his journey to becoming a top captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Sanjiv Goenka, who owns the Lucknow Super Giants, challenged everyone, predicting that Pant's name is going to move to the highest part of the list of the IPL's most successful captains right up there with legends such as Mahi and Rohit.

That's a very loud yell. Goenka didn't only stop there. Mister Goenka doubled down, calling Pant a born leader and even said that Pant might (simply) be the best captain the IPL will ever see. That's a lot of excitement, but Pant doesn't just talk. Mister Pant's already been leading at Delhi Capitals, surging in popularity with how he leads  calm but instinctive, aggressive yet sharp and informed.

Sanjiv Goenka said, "people now say 'Mahi, Rohit' in IPL's most successful captains list. Mark my words, after 10-12 years it'll be 'Mahi, Rohit and Rishabh Pant'".

Sanjiv Goenka said, "I see a born leader in Rishabh Pant. From my point of view, he will probably be the best captain IPL has ever seen".

ALSO READ: LSG Captaincy: Rishabh Pant Takes the charge for IPL 2025

Players who play with him and those who thoroughly understand their cricket are all nodding along, saying Pant's greatness and captiancy skills. And now, with the LSG officially making Pant their captain, it's clearly everything's coming full circle for him. This is his major chance to prove such deep captaincy focus isn't simply empty talk. Mister Pant's faced down tough times, such as that abominable injury that could've ended things for him. But he bounced back, and now he's ready to impress this new team with his eager way of leading. Suddenly, we circle fully back to Goenka's important note the Pant ending up on the IPL's captaincy Mount Rushmore in 10-12 years. If Pant keeps on the path he's on, turning setbacks into comebacks, and leading his team as if he's born to do it, who's to say it won't happen?

Rishabh Pant is trying to be a good team captain because he's positive, makes decisions fast, and can make his team excited and ready. Mister Pant is still learning and getting better, and in the end, you would find that he might be just as legendary as major names such as MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. Now that another season of IPL is coming up, everyone's looking to see if Pant can really turn all the high hopes people have for him into actual wins. Some people think he might become one of the major stars of IPL captaincy soon. Today, everyone's just watching Pant to see if he'll be one of the great captian in cricket history,among the greats.

Rishabh Pant Named Lucknow Super Giants Captain for IPL 2025

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) announced on January 20, by their owner, Sanjiv Goenka, that Rishabh Pant is going to be their captain for the IPL in 2025. A 27 year old individual has previously shown his skills as a leader with the Delhi Capitals during the 2021, 2022, and 2024 seasons. Now, it is his turn to lead LSG, making him the fourth captain after KL Rahul, Krunal Pandya, and Nicholas Pooran.

Pant's got a history of 43 matches as captain with the Capitals, winning 24 of them. Even though he's not in India's T20 team today, his amazing performance in the 2024 IPL obtaining 446 runs with an good strike rate of 155.40 definitely grasped LSG's attention. In great contrast to not being in the T20 mix for India, Pant was chosen by LSG for a strikingly large Rs 27 crore during the IPL 2025 player mega auction that's a major cash showing they're placing a lot of trust in him. Goenka was very positive, saying the team's strategy centered around Pant, believing in time Pant will prove to be a top notch pick, both pricy and skilled in the IPL . Pant himself seemed very glad about being chosen captain. Mr. Pant was very grateful for the kind words and was excited to get started with the team. It seems the conversations with the team have been solid, making him feel right at home.

The group Pant's leading isn't short of experienced players either. People like Aiden Markram from South Africa and Mitchell Marsh from Australia, plus weighty hitters Nicholas Pooran, David Miller, and Ayush Badoni are all part of the mix. With this crew, Pant is in a good spot to make a major impact in the game, supported by a solid team with plenty of leadership knowledge.

ALSO READ: “A Knock to Remember” – Shreyas Iyer Picks His Best Innings from the 2023 ODI World Cup

🚨 𝑩𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮 🚨

Lucknow Super Giants have named Rishabh Pant as their new captain! 🧢

Pant shattered records in the IPL 2025 mega-auction with a staggering ₹27 CR bid, making him the most expensive player in IPL history 💰

Can the dynamic Indian keeper-batter guide LSG… pic.twitter.com/pEvvfff9Rj

— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) January 20, 2025

Here, in this state of affairs, fully, with Pant at the helm for LSG, and surrounded by a strong team, it's going to be exciting to see how the 2025 IPL season unfolds for them. LSG became added as one of the new teams in the IPL in 2022, and they've actually been doing quite good, getting to the playoffs in both 2022 and 2023. Even though they've got some top rate players in their starting team, some fans are worried they might not have enough good players sitting on the bench.

But, with a person like Pant leading the team, and several impressive players ready to go, LSG is all set on fixing what didn't work before and trying very hard to win their first IPL trophy in 2025. Pant is not only simply about being the head of the team and his batting is something else and might (simply) be what LSG needs to finally get ahead. After coming back from a nasty car crash in December 2022, he's been playing amazingly in the 2024 IPL, showing everyone he's still got it, and might even get back into playing for the country again. A careful examination reveals that having Pant in charge is a major move for the Lucknow Super Giants because they're looking to be unstoppable with him as their top notch and aggressive captain in 2025 throughout the season.

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) squad boasts an excellent balance of youth and experience and some unique assets. Prior to the auction, LSG had retained a total of five players, summing up their reliable and pivotal core. They retained Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Nicholas Pooran, and Ayush Badoni. As a result, the team's core structure regarding how LSG intended to proceed had already been established.

In addition, the Uttar Pradesh-based arsenal also created history at the Indian Premier League 2025 super auction by acquiring Team India's reliable keeper batter, Rishabh Pant, for a colossal INR 27 Crore, making him the most expensive player ever purchased in the history of IPL. LSG fell head over heels for Pant after releasing KL Rahul, who commanded the team for three seasons, leading them to two consecutive playoffs. That said, here we look over the two strengths and one weakness of the 2025 LSG squad. 

Lucknow Supergiants 2025 IPL Squad: Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Ayush Badoni, Mohsin Khan, Rishabh Pant, Avesh Khan, David Miller, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abdul Samad, Akash Deep, Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Shamar Joseph, M Siddharth, Himmat Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Digvesh Singh, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Aryan Juyal.

2 Strengths:

Top-notch and promising overseas players

Apart from the swashbuckling Caribbean wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran, who has been a consistent contributor for the Lucknow-based side, the roster includes other talented international players, such as David Miller, who will bat in the middle with Mitch Marsh and Aiden Markram. Almost all foreign players are utility players who may be draughted into the XI, depending on the field circumstances.

On paper, LSG has one of the league's finest international players, and it will be intriguing to watch how they deploy them all. Marsh can open and bat in the middle of the order. Similarly, Markram can open and contribute quality four overs.

An army of power-hitters

The Lucknow Super Giants' batting lineup has some of the best power hitters. Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, David Miller, and Ayush Badoni are key players with the bat. They can easily smash intense lengths and baffling spins, aiming for relatively long square borders in home games. As a result, LSG should be one of the stronger teams in terms of pace next season.

They are led by two of the game's top power hitters, Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran. Both floaters may switch between batting positions depending on the match scenario. The West Indian batter is, without a doubt, the best white-ball ball striker. Add Pant's flamboyance to the mixture and LSG, making him everyone's favourite in the aggressive batters category. 

1 Weakness:

Bleak and inexperienced pace attack

LSG's first-choice pacers will include Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Akashdeep Singh, and Mohsin Khan. But if any of them are injured, LSG's pace assault will weaken, forcing them to settle for less effective choices. Though Mayank Yadav is a promising campaigner for the Indian Cricket team, thanks to his lethal pace, his consistency and agility will be under the radar for his future performance.

Meanwhile, Mohsin Khan, Shamar Joseph and Akashdeep Singh possess impeccable pace. However, their experience in the shortest game format amongst the power-hitters would be scrutinised, making it a quality unit that lacked understanding. Only time will tell about how much impact they would create with quick deliveries.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are set to run in the IPL 2025 under a new leadership. After making their IPL debut in the 2022 edition, they reached the Eliminators in the first two editions (2022 and 2023) but finished in seventh place in the 2024 edition, where they had the same points as the fourth-positioned team but ended with very low net run-rate. 

LSG retained five key players by deducting INR 51 crore. While they had to do impactful and calculative bidding in the mega auction, they started that with a purse remaining of INR 69 crore. We will see their auction status below.  

Lucknow Super Giants: Key additions from the mega auction

LSG set up a new record in the IPL auction history when they won Rishabh Pant’s bid for INR 27 crore. Avesh Khan (INR 9.75 crore), Akash Deep (INR 8 crore), and David Miller (INR 7.50 crore) were the other players who earned more than INR 5 crore. They also bought players like Abdul Samad, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Aiden Markram, etc. 

LSG Full Squad

Batters: Ayush Badoni (retained), David Miller (South African), Aiden Markram (South African), Himmat Singh

Wicketkeepers: Nicholas Pooran (retained/Trinidadian), Rishabh Pant, Matthew Breetzke (South African), Aryan Juyal

All-rounders: Mitchell Marsh (Australian), Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Abdul Samad, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni

Spinners: Ravi Bishoni (retained), Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Singh

Pacers: Mayank Yadav (retained), Mohsin Khan (retained), Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Shamar Joseph (Guyanese), Prince Yadav, Akash Singh

SEE ALSO: IPL 2025: Ranking all ten teams squads post the 2025 IPL Mega Auction

Brief SWOT analysis

Lucknow Super Giants have strong batting options from overseas and strong bowling options from India. Although the LSG have tried their best to set a well-balanced team for the IPL 2025, there are some challenges for one of the newest IPL teams. 

Although LSG have built up a strong Indian pace-bowling line-up, the experiences are very low. Their biggest challenge will be to handle the tougher situations. Similarly, there aren’t strong Indian batting options, except for Rishabh Pant. It means that LSG are overly dependent on foreigners for the batting. 

LSG Best Possible XI for IPL 2025

Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan

Indian wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant was the talk of the IPL Mega Auction 2025 as Lucknow Supergiants secured him for the whopping amount of 27 Crore, making him the most expensive buy in the IPL auction history.

Goenka shared that they had plans to buy Rishabh Pant

"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. Look we could not get Bhuvneshwar Kumar and we went for Akash Deep. We wanted two Indian fast bowlers and we spent INR 9.75 crore on Avesh and INR 8 crore on Akash Deep. This was not about one individual player. 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."

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) started their IPL journey in the 2022 season and played Eliminators in their first two seasons before finishing in seventh place in the 2024 season.

LSG are looking to a new start with INR 69 crore at the beginning of the IPL 2025 mega auction. In the pre-auction retention, they officially spent 51 crore to retain five players, including three capped and two uncapped players.  

Rishabh Pant smashed the IPL auction record as LSG won the bid for him for INR 27 crore.  David Miller, Mitchell Marsh, and Aiden Markram are the significant overseas buys for LSG in this mega auction. Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, etc. are the other big Indian names in the new LSG squad. 

Pre Auction Retentions

(Capped)

Nicholas Pooran (Trinidadian): INR 21 Crore

Ravi Bishnoi (Indian): INR 11 Crore

Mayank Yadav (Indian): INR 11 Crore

(Uncapped)

Mohsin Khan (Indian): INR 4 Crore

Ayush Badoni (Indian): INR 4 Crore

Right-to-Match (RTM) card availability for the mega auction

1 capped player

Mega Auction Buys

Rishabh Pant (Indian): Base price INR 2 crore – Bid won INR 27 crore

Avesh Khan (Indian): Base price INR 2 crore – Bid won INR 9.75 crore

Akash Deep (Indian): Base price INR 1 crore – Bid won INR 8 crore

David Miller (South Africa): Base price INR 1.5 crore – Bid won INR 7.50 crore

Abdul Samad (Indian): Base price INR 30 lakh – Bid won INR 4.20 crore 

Mitchell Marsh (Australian): Base price INR 2 crore – Bid won INR 3.40 crore

Shahbaz Ahmed (Indian): Base price INR 1 crore – Bid won INR 2.40 crore

Aiden Markram (South African): Base price INR 2 crore – Bid won INR 2 crore

Shamar Joseph (Guyanese): Base price INR 75 lakh – Bid won INR 75 lakh

Manimaran Siddharth (Indian): Base price INR 30 lakh – Bid won INR 75 lakh

Matthew Breetzke (South African): Base price INR 75 lakh – Bid won INR 75 lakh

Arshin Kulkarni (Indian): Base price INR 30 lakh – Bid won INR 30 lakh

Digvesh Singh (Indian): Base price INR 30 lakh – Bid won INR 30 lakh

Prince Yadav (Indian): Base price INR 30 lakh – Bid won INR 30 lakh

Yuvraj Chaudhary (Indian): Base price INR 30 lakh – Bid won INR 30 lakh

Akash Singh (Indian): Base price INR 30 lakh – Bid won INR 30 lakh

Rajvardhan Hangargekar (Indian): Base price INR 30 lakh – Bid won INR 30 lakh

Aryan Juyel (Indian): Base price INR 30 lakh – Bid won INR 30 lakh

Himmat Singh (Indian): Base price INR 30 lakh – Bid won INR 30 lakh

Full Squad

Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant, David Miller, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Avesh Khan, Abdul Samad, Aryan Juyal, Akash Deep, Himmat Singh, M. Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Matthew Breetzke.

Best Playing XI

Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan

Indian wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul has been purchased by Delhi Capitals for the price of RS. 14 Crore. There were too many questions raised about him in the last IPL season. Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru started the bids for KL Rahul. It was said that KL Rahul might come back to his former side Royal Challengers Bengaluru. But RCB didn't go after him and opted out even KKR as well. The only teams left behind him were Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings with CSK opting out it was almost confirmed that Delhi Capitals will get him. But as Lucknow Supergiants had an RTM Card it was asked if they might want to use it but they refused to use it. So, Delhi Capitals welcomed KL Rahul into their side.

KLassy entry toh banti hai boss 🙌😎 pic.twitter.com/1U9MIU94xb

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) November 24, 2024

KL Rahul in the IPL 2024 Season

Wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul had an average 2024 season as he scored 520 runs in 14 matches with an average of 37.14. He was able to score four half-centuries last season. Recently many questions were raised about his performance in white-ball format despite that Delhi Capitals backed him and bought him into the team. KL Rahul can bat at the top even if he can lead the side.

See Also:- Pant beats Shreyas to become most expensive player in IPL history

Lucknow Super Giants refused to use Right To Match (RTM) Card

The tension between KL Rahul and Lucknow Supergiants was raised when KL Rahul opted to enter into the auction ahead of the IPL Retention deadline. Lucknow Super Giants didn't look interested in buying back the skipper and even at the end when they were asked about using the Right To Match card they refused to use it on him.

Petition to officially call this the Chaat derby @DelhiCapitals?💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/gvCn4SxhNm

— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) November 24, 2024

The Lucknow Super Giants admin on X (former Twitter) posted a meme about Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul switching the IPL teams.

Indian cricketer KL Rahul finally opened up about his non-retention for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) before the IPL 2025 mega auction. 

In the IPL 2022 mega auction, LSG bought KL Rahul. He was the captain of the team in their first three seasons. Rahul is the only LSG batter to score 1000 runs for the team. The right-handed batter scored 1410 runs in 38 games for the team with an average of 41.47 and a strike rate of 130.67, including two centuries and 10 half-centuries. 

Last season, LSG finished in the seventh position, while they reached the playoffs and played Eliminators in their first two seasons.  

Although Rahul’s exit from the LSG team was highly expected, the decision is still hardly understandable.  

SEE ALSO: Rohit Sharma to miss first Test against Australia in Perth

I wanted to explore my options: KL Rahul

Talking about Rahul’s exit from LSG, the former IPL skipper clarified that he wanted a fresh start and to explore other strong and suitable options in the game. 

Rahul told Star Sports, "I wanted to start fresh, I wanted to explore my options, and I wanted to go and play where I could find some freedom. Team atmosphere would be lighter; sometimes you just need to move away and find something good for yourself, and I have been out of the T20 team for a while." 

My aim is obviously to get back into the T20 team: KL Rahul

Rahul last represented the Indian T20I side in November 2022, during the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 against England. He openly admitted that he wanted to return to the T20I side. 

Rahul added, "I know where I stand as a player, and I know what I need to do to get back. I look forward to this IPL season to give me that platform to go back and enjoy my cricket. My aim is obviously to get back into the T20 team."

KL Rahul won the Orange Cap in the IPL 2021 when he was serving for Punjab Kings. While he was the second-most run-scorer in the IPL 2022, he was in seventh place in the IPL 2024 (Rahul missed almost half of the IPL 2023 due to injury). 

Since IPL 2017, Rahul is the leading run-scorer in IPL. It shows his consistent performances and strong dependable ability with the bat. Without any doubt, he will create an auction war between teams in the upcoming mega auction.

Just like Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) also made their IPL debut in the 2022 edition. LSG have announced the retained players for the IPL 2025. 

Although they haven’t played any final yet, LSG still have impressed in their early IPL journey. In their first two IPL seasons, LSG reached the Eliminators. Last season, LSG finished in the seventh position with the same points as the fourth place but a lesser net run rate. 

KL Rahul has been leading the team since their IPL debut. In his absence, Krunal Pandya and Nicholas Pooran have led the team. 

Lucknow Super Giants’ player retention

Lucknow Super Giants retained five players, including three capped and two uncapped players, for INR 51 crore. At the IPL 2025 mega auction, LSG can spend the remaining INR 69 crore. 

(Capped)

Nicholas Pooran (Trinidadian): INR 21 Crore

Ravi Bishnoi (Indian): INR 11 Crore

Mayank Yadav (Indian): INR 11 Crore

(Uncapped)

Mohsin Khan (Indian): INR 4 Crore

Ayush Badoni (Indian): INR 4 Crore

Right-to-Match (RTM) card availability for the mega auction

1 capped player

West Indies cricketer Nicholas Pooran has reportedly signed a new contract for the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Recently, the 29-year-old Caribbean cricketer Nicholas Pooran was in Kolkata to meet with the RPSG officials. While Cricbuzz confirmed this report, the cricket news website also claimed that the Caribbean cricketer could be the first official sign for the IPL 2025. 

The retention deadline is October 31. On that day, we can learn the retained players of each IPL team before the mega auction. 

LSG are unlikely to retain KL Rahul

The LSG team management is unlikely to retain the captain KL Rahul, who is the only batter to record 1000+ runs for the team. LSG played the Eliminators in their first two IPL seasons but finished in the seventh position in the IPL 2024. 

Although the LSG owner has claimed that Rahul is a family member, the unhappiness with the captain was publicly seen in the last season.

Nicholas Pooran's performances

Pooran is the fourth-most run-scorer for LSG, as he has scored 857 runs in 29 games with an average of 42.85 and a strike rate of 175.97. The left-handed Caribbean batter has hit five half-centuries. In the last IPL season, Pooran scored 499 runs with an average of 62.37 and a strike rate of 178.21, including three half-centuries. 

As Pooran is going to be the first sign for the LSG, his retention value can be INR 18 crore. However, the franchise can deal with him for lesser or higher salaries. 

An LSG official said, according to Cricbuzz, "Pooran is committed to LSG, possesses a winning mindset, thinks deep and above all he is adaptable to the batting order and any match situation.”

If LSG don’t retain KL Rahul, Pooran can be their next captain for the IPL 2025. 

According to the Cricbuzz report, capped players Ravi Bishnoi and Mayank Yadav and the uncapped players Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan can be the other retained names for the LSG.