LSG Owner Sanjiv Goenka Clears Air on KL Rahul-Rishabh Pant Row as Negativity Grows Online

LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka dismissed claims that he or instructs his captains, including KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, on leadership decisions.

LSG Owner Sanjiv Goenka Clears Air on KL Rahul-Rishabh Pant Row as Negativity Grows Online

Sanjiv Goenka attempted to do away with the rumors surrounding his rumored rifts with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. (via NDTV Sports)

In Short
  • Sanjiv Goenka addressed rumors of a rift with LSG captain Rishabh Pant, labeling them as fabricated.
  • Goenka's animated exchanges with KL Rahul and Pant during matches have sparked controversy and speculation.
  • Despite recent struggles, Rishabh Pant's position as captain remains under pressure following LSG's performance in IPL 2026.

Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka attempted to quell speculation about rifts with his team’s captain, Rishabh Pant, as well as KL Rahul. Videos of him engaging in animated on-field chats with the two players, first Rahul, and then Pant, have been on social media. 

Sanjiv Goenka has somewhat earned the reputation of being an IPL franchise owner who interferes in team affairs. The controversy began during the 2024 IPL season, after a significant rift occurred between him and then LSG captain KL Rahul. Following the team’s humiliating defeat to SRH, clips of Goenka engaging in an intense on-field chat with Rahul went viral, which was perceived as a public ‘taking down’. 

It even showed the 65-year-old angrily pointing his finger at KL Rahul, and was widely cited as the reason behind the latter’s decision to depart LSG. With Rahul now having moved to the Delhi Capitals, LSG then went on to secure Rishabh Pant’s services for a whopping INR 27 crores.

However, in Pant’s second season as captain, his limited success with the bat, combined with the team’s difficulties, resulted in another video emerging of Goenka publicly repeating his aggressive exchange, this time with the current captain.

Videos of an animated exchange between the two went viral, following the team’s April 2 defeat to the Delhi Capitals. On being questioned by NDTV’s Rahul Kanwal, the 65-year-old responded by playing down any rumors of a rift with Pant, labeling them as fabricated stories. He clarified that with the 28-year-old captain, there has not been a ‘scolding’ episode, while not denying the earlier allegations with KL Rahul.

You know, with Rishab [Pant], there has never been a scolding situation, ever. This is social media. Sanjiv Goenka did his hand like this, which gets them views. Right? So to that end, they decided, ‘let’s make Sanjiv Goenka a punching bag.

Sanjiv Goenka went on to say that he normally uses a lot of hand gestures and is learning to keep his hands behind his back. The billionaire denied taking cricketing matters of his team into his own hands and stated that he has a team of experts. Calling the videos ‘morphed’ and ‘AI-generated’, Goenka noted that he has not played any form of cricket in his life. 

You know, I am a person who naturally talks with gestures. So I’m now learning to keep my hands behind, you know. Because you can take an angle out of context. There are so many morphed versions, there are so many AI-generated versions.

Nonetheless, the pressure still remains on Rishabh Pant, following LSG’s fourth game of IPL 2026. While he returned to form with a brisk 43 runs off 23 balls, the 28-year-old could not see his team over the line in a massive 255-run chase against the Punjab Kings.  

KL Rahul reveals Virat Kohli and Phil Salt looked ‘unhappy’ after DC defeated RCB in IPL thriller

DC defeated RCB by six wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in what turned out to be a thrilling encounter that went down to the wire. Following Delhi’s win, keeper-batter KL Rahul revealed that Virat Kohli and Phil Salt were not happy with the surface at RCB’s home ground. 

KL Rahul on Virat Kohli
KL Rahul revealed that Virat Kohli and Phil Salt were unhappy with the Chinnaswamy surface. (via Indian Express)

Typically a high-scoring venue, the Chinnaswamy has, however, produced two games this season in which the team went past the 200-run mark. Against DC, RCB could only manage 175/8, thanks to Salt’s 63 runs off 38 balls. The chase seemed tough for the visitors, but they steered past with knocks coming from KL Rahul (57 off 34), Tristan Stubbs (60 off 47), and David Miller’s finishing masterclass. 

Rahul, who hit a composed fifty at a time when his team was reduced to a mere 18/3, spoke after the match. He disclosed how Virat Kohli and Salt were frustrated with the way the ball was coming onto the bat. Scoring runs proved tough during the power play, with neither team managing to score more than 60 runs. Kohli’s frustration was compounded by his early dismissal for a low score of just 19 runs.

I could see Virat and Phil Salt weren’t happy with the way the ball was coming on. Us losing three wickets in the first six overs didn’t make it easy for us. So yeah, all in all, it was a really good cricket game.

Most of the other RCB batters, including Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar, were dismissed for low scores as well. DC’s top-order struggled as well, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar removing Pathum Nissanka, Karun Nair, and Sameer Rizvi within the powerplay. 

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