Why IPL Fans Have Already Singled Out Sanjiv Goenka Of Lucknow Super Giants

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Last Updated:March 26, 2025, 11:58 IST

IPL 2025: Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of Lucknow Super Giants, has been scrutinised by IPL fans. But why?

Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of Lucknow Super Giants, is not well-liked in the IPL community. Here's why. (IPL / BCCI)

IPL 2025 has only just kicked off and fans of the beloved league have already singled out Sanjiv Goenka. The owner of the Lucknow Super Giants franchise has been in their radar since the previous season and beyond, but now, Goenka’s actions are under scrutiny more than ever. Be it his dressing room talk addressing his team after a loss or visuals of him chatting up with the new captain Rishabh Pant, Goenka is being surveilled quite closely by cricket viewers who are keeping close tabs on LSG owner’s “actions". What has a franchise owner done to deserve this?

That KL Rahul Incident

No mention of Goenka is ever done without taking the name of KL Rahul. That’s just the reality of it. Rahul captained Lucknow Super Giants for three seasons and led the side from the front in IPL 2024 where he also finished as the leading run scorer for the team. But it was perhaps the wicketkeeper-batter’s infamous interaction with the LSG owner Goenka that has remained etched in the minds of cricket loyalists. It was a match between Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. LSG won the toss and decided to bat first. 165/4 was put up on the scoreboard by them, Rahul who opened the innings scored 29 in 33 deliveries. Then came out Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. The SRH batters were in no mood to play out 20 overs. The duo went berserk. LSG bowlers had no clue to stop the onslaught. KL Rahul watched on. Sharma (75* off 28) and Head (89* off 30) wrapped up the match in under 10 overs. SRH won the match with as many as 62 spare deliveries. All 10 wickets were secure in their bag.

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When a battered LSG made their way back after being smoked by SRH, all eyes were on KL Rahul. He was the captain, after all. And Goenka wasted no time in discussing the humiliating loss with him. With cameras panned on them, Goenka had an outburst. The LSG owner looked in an irate mood as his chat and animated body language left Rahul speechless. Despite their crushing loss, cricket fans sided with Rahul for he had received a beating down out in open. Even the commentators remarked that such a conversation between the owner and captain should have taken place behind closed doors. Goenka was panned widely.

KL Rahul’s 3-year-stint in the LSG camp had reached a bitter conclusion. The cricketer was not retained by the franchise. The 32-year-old was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 14 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Later the cricketer revealed that Goenka’s heated chat did have repercussions on the entire team and not just him. “Whatever happened on the field after the game wasn’t the nicest thing to be part of or something that anyone wants to see on the cricket field. I think it did affect the entire group," Rahul told in an interview to Star Sports.

KL Rahul Redemption

Rahul’s redemption came in the Champions Trophy 2025 where India emerged as the most successful side in the coveted tournament with three titles. Though he wasn’t making big runs coming late down the order, his tally of 136 runs for Men in Blue in the tournament were invaluable to the team. It was, however, his unbeaten 34 against New Zealand in the finals that won him praises for being calm and composed in what turned out to be a tricky run chase of 252 runs. “I don’t think I can say this on camera but I was shitting myself," a relieved Rahul said after the Champions Trophy triumph. “Hard to put it into words, pure skill and the way we’ve all played our cricket growing up, had to face a lot of challenges, we’ve had to face pressure from the time we’ve held a bat and decided to become professional cricketers. The way the BCCI has groomed us and the domestic circuit has trained us to handle pressure and do well in circumstances like these," he concluded.

Also Read: ‘He Has Always Been…’: LSG Owner Sanjiv Goenka Praises ‘Very Talented’ KL Rahul

Goenka was added to fan edits and reels that showed low moments of Rahul’s career to him eventually rising from them.

Dressing Room Talk Or Image Cleansing?

Rishabh Pant’s debut as the Lucknow Super Giants’ captain was a forgettable one. Pant was dismissed for a 6-ball duck in LSG’s steep score of 209/8 thanks to swift fifties from Nicholas Pooran and Mitch Marsh. In response, Delhi Capitals was down and out, wobbling at 65/5 at one stage. But Delhi debutant Ashutosh Sharma (66* off 31) along with Vipraj Nigam (39 off 15) pulled off a remarkable run chase, winning the match by only a wicket and 3 balls to spare.

Goenka met up with the glum team.

“Lots of positives that I take away from this game. The way we had the Powerplay in both batting and bowling was brilliant. These things happen. We are a young team. Let’s look at the positives and look forward from tomorrow to the 27th. And hopefully, we’ll have a better result. Disappointing result, yes. But a great game. So well done," Goenka addressed his team in the dressing room after the loss.

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Good thing, right? The owner was lifting the morale of the team. IPL fans and social media commenters found Goenka’s act performative – one that was rather staged to “cleanse" his image. Others objected to the very fact that the LSG owner “who had never held a bat or ball in life" was tutoring a room of Zaheer Khan, Lance Klusener, and Justin Langer on cricket.

Might have never held a bat or a ball his entire life, but tutoring the all time greats like Langer, Klusener, Zaheer. This is more like an image-cleanup session of himself. Undoubtedly the most dislikable owner of a IPL team. https://t.co/RGJbq8JtxK— Aaditya Singh 🇮🇳 (@aadi09X) March 25, 2025

“PR to clean up what he did to KL last year lol… The way this franchise tries different things to show people but ends up being stupid & getting cooked," remarked an ‘X’ user.

Rishabh Pant

Will Rishabh Pant face a similar wrath? After their loss to Delhi Capitals, the LSG owner was seen chatting up with Pant, the new skip who was bought by the franchise for a record-breaking Rs 27 crore. The chat instantly brought back the memories of Rahul’s interaction with the LSG owner.