Rishabh Pant appointed Lucknow Super Giants captain

Rishabh Pant has been officially appointed as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants for the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League. The swashbuckling keeper-bat, who formerly led Delhi Capitals, chose to enter the auction ahead of the 18th season of the tournament and attracted the highest bid in IPL history, with the Super Giants securing the left-handed wicketkeeper-batter for a record-breaking INR 27 Crore. You can also make money of such biblicial proportions by checking out the online casinos in Bangladesh.

The Super Giants went after Pant who had entered the auction at a base price of INR 2 Crore. Thwarting off challenges from Royal Challengers Bengaluru and then Sunrisers Hyderabad, in that order, the Super Giants bid INR 20.75 Crore, which was matched by the Capitals who employed the Right To Match. The Super Giants then amped up the price to INR 27 Crore, making use of the updated IPL auction rules which allow the original bidder to raise the price after the use of RTM card, to procure the services of the 27-year old.

The Super Giants were on the hunt for a captain, preferably an Indian, having let go of KL Rahul. Pant was Super Giants’ first acquisition in the auction and they went about crafting a new-look squad whose strong suit is an Indian pace battery.

The Super Giants, having retained Nicholas Pooran (21 Cr), Ravi Bishnoi (11 Cr), Mayank Yadav (11 Cr), Mohsin Khan (4 Cr) and Ayush Badoni (4 Cr), managed to draft in some high-profile names like Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and David Miller among their overseas buys while bolstering their pace department with the inclusions of Avesh Khan (9.75 Cr) and Akash Deep (8 Cr). However, they will bank on the overseas guns in the batting department, including the top order.

Super Giants is the second IPL team that Pant will marshal, having captained the Capitals from IPL 2021 until the previous season. Pant, however, missed the full 2023 IPL season while recovering from a life-threatening road accident. Delhi Capitals won just five of their 14 games and narrowly avoided the wooden spoon in IPL 2023.

Pant will now join forces with head coach Justin Langer and mentor Zaheer Khan to give a new direction to the Super Giants in the upcoming IPL cycle. Sanjeev Goenka, who is also the owner of Mohun Bagan Super Giant apart from the Lucknow Super Giants, wants his franchise to emulate the success of the football team. He also hailed powerhouses like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings as the benchmark for the IPL.

Broadcast Schedule

India v England White ball series
IND v ENG 2nd ODI, Cuttack
9th February
Start time: 8:00 am GMT
IND v ENG 3rd ODI, Ahmedebad
12th February
Start time: 8:00 am GMT