New Delhi: Rishabh Pant is determined not to let the weight of his record Rs 27 crore price tag too overbearing as he prepared to lead Lucknow Super Giants in the 2025 Indian Premier League.
LSG’s whopping bid to beat Delhi Capitals made Pant the most expensive cricketers in IPL history, raising a lot of eyebrows for the kind of money he was offered for a two month tournament.
Pant had led Delhi Capitals last year but opted to leave the franchise and made himself available at the IPL mega auction in which LSG bid big to snap him up.
He was unveiled as the captain of the Sanjiv Goenka-owned side at a press conference in Kolkata on Monday. LSG failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the IPL last year under the leadership of KL Rahul, who was bagged by Delhi Capitals at the auction.
In three years of existence, LSG are yet to enter the final of the glamour tournament and are very keen to make a mark this year under the leadership of Pant.
Asked if Pant feels this weight of expectations after being the most costly player of the tournament, Pant said that he is eager to tide over the pressure of the big price tag.
“If he (Sanjiv Goenka) is not under pressure, then there’s no question of it impacting me. But I have to convince myself – thinking about the money cannot be the priority,” the left hander said.
“We’ll back the players. We’ll try to give them trust. We’ll have a clear communication.”
Over the years, Pant has played under various captains in IPL and the Indian team, claiming to pick up appreciable aspects from each one of them.
Yes, I’ve learned from a lot of captains, and a lot of my seniors because I feel you just don’t have to only learn from your captain,” said Pant after being named captain of the Lucknow franchise.
“There are a lot of senior players who have experience of the game, the way game is moving forward. There’s a lot you can learn from all the seniors, not just the captain.”
‘Performance the last word’
Goenka said not Pant’s price tag but the team’s combination and performance of players would determine how LSG would fare at the 2025 IPL, which is expected to begin in March.
“Price tag ended when the auction ended. Every team had Rs 120 crore to spend. How much you spent on each player is irrelevant. Your team combination, capability to win is important,” Goenka said.
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