“He will play 10-15 years” Goenka Backs Rishabh Pant to Surpass Rohit, MS Dhoni in IPL History

After Rishabh Pant has been officially announced as the LSG captain ahead of the IPL 2025, the franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka expects around five titles as the side looks to make a fresh start.

The expectations were already set to high standards when the franchise decided to secure the wk-batter for a whooping price of INR 27 crore.

“We had kept a budget of Rs 27 crore for Pant. We were adamant about getting him (during the IPL auction),” Sanjiv Goenka revealed.

Goenka expects big things from his new skipper as he expects the 27-year-old to become the greatest player in the tournament’s history and praises his relaxed but passionate approach in terms of leadership.

“Pant isn’t just going to be the best player of LSG but of IPL itself. Never seen someone with so much passion. He’s the boy next door; his connection with the players, teams, and thought process is different. Conventional thought processes lack uniqueness,” Goenka shared.

“I see him as a leader. He will probably be the best captain IPL has seen,” he added.

Goenka also highlighted how it was needed for the franchise to create a platform with a mutual trust and learn to take lessons from their wins and losses.

“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,” Goenka said.

Goenka hopes for greatness from Pant to greatness as a player and as a captain, hinting that he could win at least five titles in the next decade or two, to put him along with the likes of tournament’s greatest captains Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni.

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

Pant has led Delhi Capitals in 43 IPL games out of which he won 23 matches and lost the remaining 19. Pant enjoyed a great working relationship with former Aussie player Ricky Ponting as Dc’s coach until 2024 season.

After Ponting took of PBKS head coach position, Pant has joined the Australia legend in Punjab franchise.