LSG owner responds to Rishabh Pant being labelled as 'ego buy' remark ahead of IPL 2025

LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka and Rishabh Pant. (Photo: X)

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner has expressed that spending Rs 27 crore to sign Rishabh Pant at the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega-auction wasn't about ego but much more about what the player brings to the team and table. During the auction, Shreyas Iyer (Rs 26.75 crore) first broke the record of most expensive player in IPL history which moments later was broken by Pant.

LSG got their hands on some world class signings at the auction which included - Mitchell Marsh, Akash Deep, Aiden Markram and David Miller.

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Sanjiv Goenka reiterated that the price tag doesn't matter much to the franchise at the end of the day. "This was not about one individual player. It was not about egos. Did we want to have the most expensive player? No. At the end of the day, this does not mean very much to the franchise," Goenka told Cricbuzz.

Goenka highlighted Pant's never giving up attitude both on and off the field which made him the perfect choice for LSG. Pant suffered a horrific car accident on December 2022 and was out of the field for almost 15 months. He played a crucial role for India in the recent T20 World Cup 2024 and also led Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2024 season.

"It is about somebody who brings dynamism, a never-say-die attitude. The very fact that he recovered from a near-fatal accident and came back to top form shows his resilience and determination. That is the kind of attitude we want. We want people who have an appetite to win and have a track record of winning," said Goenka.

Pant was the lone bright spot in India's 0-3 defeat to New Zealand at home, scoring 250 runs across six innings. Earlier, the southpaw had also notched a century against Bangladesh in Chennai.

Asked about the captaincy at LSG, Goenka chose to remain tight-lipped. "Bataunga, bataunga, very soon. (I’ll let you know). Let the auction get over and we will tell you. Will inform you all very soon," Goenka said with a smile on his face.