When Sanjiv Goenka Said Rishabh Pant Will Win 5 IPL Trophies In Next 15 Years

Sanjiv Goenka once praised Rishabh Pant [Source: AFP]

LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka had big ambitions and expectations when he signed wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant for INR 27 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction. He had a vision that has resurfaced online.

Pant entered the mega auction after parting ways with the Delhi Capitals. His bid reached an expectedly high amount as LSG secured an INR 27 crore deal, the costliest one in IPL auction history.

Naturally, he was appointed the captain of LSG in the following two seasons, which, in hindsight, turned out to be a major error.

Sanjiv Goenka’s past vision for Rishabh Pant

Interestingly, after signing Rishabh Pant for the record-breaking deal in IPL 2025 mega auction, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka made a massive prediction about Pant’s future as a captain and franchise leader. 

He claimed Pant could win at least 5-6 IPL titles over the next 10-15 years and eventually be spoken about in the same bracket as MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.

“He will play 10-15 years. During that time, he can win at least 5-6 IPL titles. People will say, ‘Mahi, Rohit, Rishabh’," Goenka said.

Sanjiv Goenka didn’t just praise Pant’s batting. He spoke repeatedly about his leadership qualities, calling him potentially the best captain IPL has seen.

“I see him as a leader. He will probably be the best captain IPL has seen, Rishabh Pant knows a few players, doesn’t know others. We have to create a platform where there’s mutual trust. End of the day, you want to win. You won’t win every game losing and winning are part and parcel. You learn to take defeat with victory," he added.

Also Read - Rishabh Pant's Replacements: LSG Players In Race To Be Appointed Captain For IPL 2027

The dream that abruptly fell apart

However, as fate would have it, Rishabh Pant could not even last more than 2 seasons as LSG captain. After finishing at the bottom of the table, Pant stepped down as Lucknow’s captain effective immediately.

As per the latest post shared by the franchise’s social media account, it was Pant’s call, and he asked to be relieved from his duties as a skipper beginning from the IPL 2027 season.

LSG have accepted his request and will now look for a new captain for the coming year. Notably, LSG also failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2025 and hit their lowest in 2026.

Goenka’s pattern of sacking captains

That being said, this isn’t the first time Sanjiv Goenka has come hard on team captains. When he owned RPSG during 2016-2017, Goenka sacked legend MS Dhoni as captain after the 2016 season, where the team was second last on the points table.

In 2017, RPSG played under the leadership of Steve Smith. The decision became controversial because many people felt MS Dhoni was being made the scapegoat for a badly balanced team and an injury-hit season. 

Critics argued that a single poor IPL campaign was too small a sample size to remove one of cricket’s greatest captains.

Not only that, when LSG was formed, KL Rahul was chosen as captain after the franchise drafted him before the season debut. However, after multiple failed seasons and on-field arguments, Rahul decided to leave the franchise and join the mega auction instead.

This instability in leadership has become a pattern for Sanjiv Goenka, who has been reportedly criticised for meddling in the team's internal affairs, which is not a good sign of conducting business in sports.

Also Read - Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 could reshape India's ODI cricket future