ROCKSTAR Rishabh Pant unveiled as LSG captain

IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants unleashed their new captain on Monday, rock star Rishabh Pant. Dressed nattily in a suit, Pant sat next to Sanjiv Goenka, the owner, in Kolkata on Monday. Pant has been in the IPL since 2016, but the real deal is how he was the face of Delhi Capitals till last year. How and why he walked out of Delhi, not wanting to be retained is now an old story. Pant is a free bird, he decided to fly, from Delhi to Lucknow, which is a short haul.

What can one expect from Pant the new leader in a relatively new franchise? He is bold, and thorough entertainer and loves challenges. For those who feel Pant did not do enough justice to his talent in the IPL, he should not be judged so harshly. Last year was a rebirth of sorts in the IPL after the car crash in December 2022, where he almost got killed. Knee surgery and much more under Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala in Mumbai and then rehab, Pant returned as a fresh product in IP 2024. All those who doubted his fitness, flexibility and form were proved wrong. Pant may not have secured Delhi Capitals a spot in the Playoffs but his comeback was sensational last year.

And when Pant was picked for the ICC T20 World Cup, there will still doubts if he was fit for the rigours. He proved all wrong. And with his combat skills intact, what Rishabh Pant did in the BGT Series in Australia, most recently, has been so different. Call it bravado or being brash, he battled hard and showed that despite the odds, he will still shine. That same energy is what fans love, and will want to see in Pant when he turns out for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025. His new boss, Sanjiv Goenka has gone on to say Pant will become the biggest-ever IPL captain. That is a sweeping statement, since comparisons have been made with MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. Dhoni and Rohit have been stand-out captains in IPL and for India. Pant will get there one day.

Pant is Pant, don’t expect him to become a replica or a prototype. For those who say or write he should be consistent and show restraint, that would be weird. You cannot curb the natural instincts of Pant as a batter and a wicket-keeper who stands as a class act in Tests. He has been a ‘chela’ of MS Dhoni, so he has picked up a lot. Yet, Pant is a reverential cricketer who worships his skills and entertains. How he fares for LSG will be defining since the whole atmosphere will be different. If anything, he will want to create a fresh template for LSG, a side which is still new in the IPL.

In many ways, when LSG splurged Rs 27 crores on one player, it was a new high. One talks of football players going for mega deals in Euros and US dollars. Pant is in that same league of being a big player with a massive presence. He can single-handedly destroy any bowling attack in any format of cricket. Surely, IPL 2025 will be a new venture for him where he will set an example. In terms of business sense as well, Pant is very big. He has his own company which negotiates his deals and builds on his brand. In monetary terms, that is massive, details of which are not known. How many would know, Pant has employees to work for him!

Cricketers have their own firms, some not in own name. Everything about Pant is fairly open, so he will want to show the world moving to LSG was not just for money but creating something special. Performance is one thing, but the marquee cricketer will himself bring in money for the LSG side as well. The Pant who made a comeback almost a year ago and the Pant today are different. If there is one cricketer who will walk into any side, it is Rishabh Pant. There are some like Suresh Raina who say Pant has to be more consistent. Pant does not follow what others tell him. He is the Lord and Master in his own right. As the biggest buy in IPL 2025, he has already grabbed eyeballs. Watch him this season in the hottest T20 club cricket league. He will be thrilling.