Star Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the IPL 2025 mega auction. He broke the record for the highest price ever paid for a player, with Lucknow Super Giants acquiring him for ₹27 crore. After this auction, it was speculated that Pant would be the next captain of Lucknow. The franchise had released their former captain KL Rahul before the auction and retained Nicholas Pooran for ₹21 crore. Initially, there were rumors that Pooran might be given the captaincy, but after Pant’s arrival, the equation changed.
IPL 2025: Sanjiv Goenka Responds to Captaincy Question
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka confirmed that the decision regarding the new captain has already been made and will be announced before the IPL 2025 season. KL Rahul had led the team during the IPL 2022-24 cycle, but when he was injured in the 2023 season, Krunal Pandya took over as captain. Both Rahul and Krunal were released before the auction. Rahul is now with Delhi Capitals, and Krunal is with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Lucknow now has several options for captaincy, including former Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant, current T20I captains of Australia and South Africa, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, and West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran.
IPL 2025: Pant, Pooran, Markram, and Marsh in the Captaincy Race
Goenka shared his thoughts on the captaincy in a video on former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel, stating, “People are often surprised easily, but the decision has already been made. We will announce it in the coming days. We have four leaders in our team – Rishabh Pant, Pooran, Markram, and Mitchell Marsh. So, we have a very strong leadership pool based on intelligence, thought, and strategy. All of them are players who can move forward with a winning mentality. Rishabh has the hunger and passion to win and achieve something.”
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IPL 2025: Lucknow Puts Trust in Indian Fast Bowlers
LSG retained Pooran for ₹21 crore, along with Indian fast bowlers Mayank Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi (₹11 crore each), and uncapped players Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan for ₹4 crore. Goenka commented, “Our internal feeling is that our auction went very well. Our focus was to strengthen the middle order and finishing. We are very strong from numbers three to eight. Another thing we wanted was to go with an Indian fast-bowling attack rather than international fast bowlers, and we picked explosive international batsmen. Now, we have a combination of both.”
IPL 2025: Coach and Captain to Decide Opening Pair
Goenka concluded by stating that the decision of who will open the batting – Markram, Marsh, or Pant – will be made by the new captain, coach Justin Langer, and mentor Zaheer Khan. He said, “We decided that we need to strengthen our middle order and include an Indian core. However, the auction doesn’t always go according to plan. We tried very hard for Jos Buttler, but we fell just one or two bids short. The opening pair will be decided by Zaheer Khan, Justin Langer, and the captain.”
