Sanjiv Goenka opens up on post-trade relationship with Rishabh Pant; ‘We plan to have dinner together one of these days’

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka finally broke his silence on Rishabh Pant after the former captain's exit from the franchise recently. The India wicket-keeper batter, who is the costliest player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), was traded to Delhi Capitals in a blockbuster player swap which saw Kuldeep Yadav moving to LSG.

Pant started his IPL career in 2016 at Delhi Capitals and remained at the franchise till 2024, until LSG shelled out a whopping ₹27 crore at the auction to secure his services. However, the 28-year-old failed to lift the franchise into playoffs for two consecutive seasons, before making the move.

Joining Delhi Capitals at a revised salary of ₹15 crore, Pant is expected to take up the captain's armband in the 2027 season. Appearing on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast, Goenka was asked about his last conversation with Pant before the latter's trade to Delhi Capitals. "Our last conversation wasn't just about the trade. We have continued to speak even after that," Goenka said.

Asked about the nature of discussions, the LSG owner replied wished Pant good luck for the future. "Good luck to him and best wishes. We plan to have dinner one of these days," added Goenka.

Why Rishabh Pant left LSG?

Earlier during IPL 2026, Pant indirectly took a dig at the LSG management, citing “too many minds” making it difficult for him to manage on the field. Although he didn't name anyone, but it looked like Pant didn't had the freedom to lead the side in his own way. Under Pant, LSG finished seventh in IPL 2025 and a disappointing last in the 2026 edition.

“See, there are always times in cricket where you can change things a little, but sometimes bowlers have to bowl those tough overs. And there will be times when I have to use them in the middle overs because I was looking for a wicket. I just didn’t get one. That was the thought process behind it. And too many minds don’t make it easy on the ground,” Pant told the host broadcaster after LSG's defeated to Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata.

Who can be new LSG captain?

LSG have a few candidates within their own squad to replace Pant as the captain in IPL 2027 - Australia's Mitchell Marsh and South African Aiden Markram. While Marsh is the captain of the Australian T20I side, Markram had led the Proteas before.

Among the two, Markram suits the best, having had the experience of leading franchise teams globally. He had led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to back-to-back SA20 titles in 2024 and 2025 and is currently serving as the skipper of Durban Super Giants.

In The Hundred, Markram is the skipper of Manchester Super Giants. Notably, Durban Super Giants and Manchester Super Giants are owned by Goenka and are sister franchises of LSG.