File photo of Rishabh Pant© BCCI/IPL
Rishabh Pant’s IPL 2025 campaign has been forgettable to say the least. He was picked at the IPL 2025 auction by the Sanjiv Goenka-owned Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore – the highest any franchise has paid for a player in the tournament’s history. But the star wicketkeeper-batter had his poorest IPL ever as he scored just 135 in 12 matches with an average of 12.27. LSG even failed to qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs.
In the midst of this, a journalist posted on X: “Breaking News: LSG Most Likely To Release Rishabh Pant Ahead Of IPL 2026. LSG Management Feels 27 Crore Is Too Much.”
Pant has reacted strongly to the observation.
“I understand fake News gives more traction To content but let’s not built everything around it . Little sense and credible news will help more rather making fake news with agenda . Thanks have a good day . Let’s be responsible and sensible what we put out on social media,” Pant said in response to the post.
Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka had big expectations from his franchise, especially after he managed to bring a marquee player like Rishabh Pant to the team. LSG had a headline-making mega auction last year that saw them rope in the wicket-keeper batter for a record-breaking fee of INR 27 crore. Despite possessing a batting unit comprising of top players like Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant, David Miller, etc. the franchise couldn’t finish in the last four.
LSG had a glimmer of hope of reaching the knockouts but the defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday put them out of contention. As chatter around the franchise’s future plans, especially with regards to skipper Rishabh Pant, floods social media, owner Sanjiv Goenka poured his heart out, highlighting his learnings from the campaign.
“It’s been a challenging second half of the season, but there’s much to take heart in. The spirit, the effort, and the moments of excellence give us a lot to build on. Two games remain. Let’s play with pride and finish strong. #LSGvsSRH,” Goenka wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
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