Pant was picked at the mega auction for an IPL record Rs 27 crore by the franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka
Rishabh Pant (Pic: AFP)
Dynamic keeper-batter Rishabh Pant was on Monday named the captain of Lucknow Super Giants for the upcoming IPL and he vowed to give his "200 percent" to win the team's maiden title.
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Pant was picked at the mega auction for an IPL record Rs 27 crore by the franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka.
"I will give my 200 percent. That's my commitment to you. I will try whatever is there in my power to repay the faith. I am really excited and looking forward to new beginning and new energy. And have a blast out there with lot of fun," Pant told mediapersons after being unveiled as the new skipper.
"We start with new hope and aspirations. And most importantly, new confidence. I wanted to introduce you all to our new captain Rishabh Pant," Goenka said.
Pant would mark his second stint as the captain in the IPL. Earlier, in the Delhi Capitals, the captaincy became the point of contention, making Pant opt out of the franchise's retention plans. Despite DC's interest in keeping him, they were not fully committed to him leading the side, prompting him to re-enter the auction.
India batter KL Rahul led LSG through their first three IPL seasons (2022-2024), taking the team to the playoffs in their first two campaigns, though they failed to reach the final in either year.
The 2024 season, however, was a setback, with LSG finishing seventh on the points table.
Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni, and Mohsin Khan were retained by the Goenka-owned franchise but they still were on the lookout for an Indian leader to succeed Rahul.
At the auction, they pipped Sunrisers Hyderabad, LSG to get Pant for Rs 20.75 crore, eventually, they had to raise their price to Rs 27 crore to outbid Delhi Capitals' right-to-match card.
ant, who had been with DC since 2016, was appointed captain in 2021 and led the team until 2023 before a near-fatal car accident in December 2022 ruled him out.
In the revamped LSG squad, Pant will be supported by key overseas players such as David Miller, Mitchell Marsh, and Aiden Markram, along with Indian seamers Akash Deep and Avesh Khan, among others.
Pooran, Marsh, Markram, and Miller were also considered potential captaincy candidates after the auction.
Pant will also have team mentor Zaheer Khan and head coach Justin Langer for company during IPL.
Meanwhile, Pant has made himself available for Delhi's next Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra beginning in Rajkot from January 23, DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma said on Tuesday. He last played a Ranji Trophy match back in the 2017-2018 season.
Former India players Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri are among many who want the current crop of players, especially the struggling Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, to play red-ball cricket following the series loss in Australia.
Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are also expected to play for their respective state teams.
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