Goenka breaks silence on Rishabh Pant's DC trade

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner, Sanjiv Goenka, broke his silence on their captain Rishabh Pant’s trade to the Delhi Capitals ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Pant was traded to his old franchise for INR 15 crore, while Kuldeep Yadav joined Lucknow for INR 13.5 crore.

Pant was signed by the Super Giants during the IPL 2025 mega auction for a record-breaking price of INR 27 crore, making him the most expensive player of the competition. He was replaced by KL Rahul as the new captain of the side, as they failed to qualify for the playoffs in both the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

Goenka reveals he and Pant still talk after the trade, hints at dinner plans

Goenka recently made his appearance on the podcast of Shubhankar Mishra and highlighted his final conversation with Rishabh Pant before the Indian star joined the Capitals, who could hand over the leadership back to Delhi.

Watch Sanjiv Goenka's reaction here-

“Our last conversation wasn't just about the trade. We have continued to speak even after that. Good luck to him and best wishes. We plan to have dinner one of these days.” Goenka said during the interaction.

The LSG owner explained the episode where he was seen to be scolding Pant after the end of the game. He clarified the entire situation in the same podcast.

“There is too much speculation around whether I scolded Rishabh. I did not. One time, I was simply getting up to head to the washroom. By pure coincidence, Rishabh Pant got out at that exact second. Immediately, clips went viral claiming, ‘Look at Sanjiv Goenka’s utter disgust as Rishabh Pant gets out!’ I genuinely struggle to understand that logic.” Goenka informed.

“You cannot even make a completely normal human movement without someone putting an entirely bizarre spin on it.” He concluded.

581 runs in two seasons — How Pant's LSG captaincy stint actually played out

India's Pant has smashed 3865 runs in 136 innings of the IPL at an average of 33.60 and a blistering strike rate of 146.79, with the help of two centuries and 20 half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 128 runs against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

In the two seasons with Lucknow, the southpaw clubbed 581 runs in 26 innings, divided into 312 runs in 2026 and 269 runs in 2025, with two half-centuries and one century at the best score of 118*.

Pant has also scored 1209 runs in 66 innings of the T20Is at an average of 23.25 and a strike rate of 127.26, thanks to three fifties, with the best score of an unbeaten 65.