Rishabh Pant has been officially appointed as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). Pant, who formerly led Delhi Capitals, became the most expensive buy in IPL history, with the Super Giants sbuying him for a record-breaking INR 27 Crore.

“I would like to say personal thank you to (Sanjiv Goenka, team owner), thank you sir, thank you for having me, and whole LSG management for showing the faith in me. I will give my 200% and that’s my commitment to you,” Pant said at the press conference organised at the RPSG House in Kolkata on Monday (January 20). “And I will try whatever it’s in my power to repay this faith which you have shown. And really excited to be part of the team. And looking forward to a new beginning, with new energy, and just have a blast out there.”

“Definitely happy with the team,” Pant insisted. “We have a mix of youth and experienced players. And for me also personally, like you said, we haven’t been through there where we wanted to be. But that’s the journey, that’s why we all are together at the same time. All together, how can we take this franchise to newer heights, to newer beginnings. And that’s the idea behind this collab, I would say. Let’s take it together to a different height and just be on the journey together,” added Pant.

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However, Lucknow Super Giants will be the second IPL team that Rishabh Pant will lead, having led the Capitals from IPL 2021 until the last season as well. Pant, however, missed the full 2023 IPL season as he was recovering from a life-threatening road accident.

“I have learned from a lot of captains. A lot of my seniors…I think there’s a lot of learning to be learned from all the seniors, not just the captain. But it’s difficult to be very specific (about the learnings). With Rohit [Sharma] bhai, you’ve learned how to care for a player. Because I feel, and I feel the same when I captain a side, I feel if you give confidence and trust to a player, he will do things which you can’t even imagine for you and for the team,” he added.

“And that’s the kind of ideology we like to have. We’ll back the players, we’ll try to give them trust, we’ll have a clear communication, what kind of role we want to work for them. And that’s the idea. And one thing is that never die attitude. You fight till the last ball. And that is something I always emphasize on that. Performance will come and go,” Pant again shared.

However, Rishabh Pant will now join hands with head coach Justin Langer and mentor Zaheer Khan to plan for the Lucknow Super Giants in the upcoming IPL season. Zaheer, who had captained the Delhi Daredevils team a few years back, recalled sharing the dressing room with a 19-year old Pant as well.

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“I remember you walking in that Delhi Daredevils dressing room just after under-19 India stint. And I was leading Delhi Daredevils at that time. To see you grow as a fine cricketer through your ups and downs, and growing into such a batter, such a cricketer, which is setting new standards, looking at the game differently, inspiring a new style of play, is something which is very, very commendable. Just want to wish you all the luck with this franchise. Together we have lots to achieve. And you personally have a lot to give to this beautiful game of cricket. So we will be able to embark on this journey with a lot of hopes and aspirations,” said Zaheer Khan.

“With the support of such a great owner, Mr. Goenka, who is so motivated to give LSG the platform, the freedom to express ourselves and go out and achieve good things for this team. So we have a brand to build. And LSG, for all you guys, is going to be an outfit which is going to play some fearless cricket, some exciting cricket, and is definitely going to be a team to look up to in coming years. So that’s the journey we are on. And we want all your support in that journey. We want more and more people to connect with this franchise, start following it, love the franchise, give all the love. And we will earn all the respect and love of yours through our performances on the field, through our actions on the field, as a team. That’s what we are hoping for,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Sanjiv Goenka, who is also the owner of Mohun Bagan Super Giant, wants the LSG franchise to be successful as well. He also cited successful teams like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, who won five title each so far as well.

“Very hopeful,” Goenka said about the chances of the Super Giants. “You would remember that a few seasons ago, many of you were writing off Mohan Bagan. You were writing off our team. We came back. We came back with a vengeance. Likewise, believe in us (Super Giants). Support us. And I assure you that LSG will not disappoint you. You know, you take inspiration from everyone who is successful. Look at Mumbai Indians. Look at CSK. Look at the way they have gone about their business. Look at the consistency that they have got. The stability that they have got. The motivation that Rohit and Mahi [MS Dhoni] bring to the team. So we have to learn from that. And you learn every day. You make mistakes, you learn from them. You fall down, stand up, run faster. So yes, the attempt is to delight our fans. Hopefully, we will not be found wanting.”