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Before the 19th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjeev Goenka has given a big statement. Goenka has said that just reaching the playoffs is not enough. If the team does not win the trophy then people will not respect. He told in a show of Jiostar that LSG has reached the playoffs twice but it is not enough. The team sometimes loses and sometimes wins but LSG must win its first trophy.

Rishabh Pant’s tension increased

LSG had bought Rishabh Pant for IPL 2025 for Rs 27 crore. This is the most expensive bid in IPL history. The pressure of big money was clearly visible on Pant and he proved to be a complete flop in the 2025 season. He could score only 269 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 133.16. Of these, 118 runs came in LSG’s last match of the season. Pant played this innings when LSG was out of the race for the playoffs.

In IPL 2025, LSG could register only 6 wins in 14 matches and stood seventh. This was the second consecutive season that LSG failed to reach the playoffs. Pant’s first target this season will be to take the team to the playoffs but Goenka’s statement before the start of the season has increased his tension. LSG, which joined IPL in the year 2022, had made the playoff ticket in its first two seasons under the captaincy of KL Rahul. After this, when the team’s performance was not good in IPL 2024, Goenka scolded Rahul in the middle of the field. Rahul left LSG after this season.

Despite Pant’s poor performance, Goenka has been seen behaving very friendly so far and the franchise has retained this wicketkeeper batsman. But before the upcoming season, Goenka’s statement that the team’s success is judged not only on consistency but on trophies, may put additional pressure on Pant.

LSG’s first match is on 1st April

IPL 2026 is starting from 28th March. LSG will start their campaign on April 1 against Delhi Capitals at their home ground. After this, on April 5, it will face Sunrisers Hyderabad. LSG will play its third match of the season against host Kolkata Knight Riders on April 9 at the Eden Gardens. They will then take on Gujarat Titans at home on April 12.

Full squad of Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (captain), Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Digvesh Rathi, Matthew Britzke, Himmat Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Prince Yadav, M Siddharth, Akash Singh, Arjun Tendulkar, Josh Inglis, Mukul Chaudhary, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Enrique Norkhia, Wanindu Hasaranga, Naman Tiwari