3 min readMar 22, 2026 06:38 PM IST
After two middling seasons of the Indian Premier League, where Lucknow Super Giants failed to qualify for the playoffs and finished seventh in consecutive years in 2024 and 2025, franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka candidly accepted that the performance of the team was “bad” and that there were no excuses for it.
“Our last two seasons weren’t good. Qualification isn’t the only objective. They were poor. We finished seventh in both seasons. No excuses… a bad performance is a bad performance. Having said that, mistakes happen, but you have to learn from them and avoid repeating them,” said Goenka in an interaction with Sports Tak.
“Last year, our bowlers… our main pacers were all injured… all at the same time. We didn’t plan the auction well for their backups. We didn’t do proper homework about which players are injury-prone, how to track their rehab,” he added.
‘Great confidence in Rishabh’
Goenka also opened up about the criticism and online trolling that he and his team faced following the team’s poor performances in the last couple of seasons, while also defending Rishabh Pant’s captaincy, which came under scrutiny after LSG’s poor campaign in IPL 2025.
“Look, what will any captain do when he does not have his four main bowlers? You have to look at it from what he had. I personally have great confidence in Rishabh. I know people say Rishabh will be there or not (to continue with LSG as captain). I see it and laugh,” said Goenka.
“I feel some social media sites need views, and (for them) Sanjiv Goenka becomes a very happy and convenient punching bag. I don’t know the reason. I understand 2-5% of social media. I don’t understand 90%. So I don’t know what the reason is. But Sanjiv Goenka is a punching bag. I live with my conscience. I live with myself. And I am a very secure person in my own skin,” he added.
“So when I make a mistake, I openly admit I made a mistake. Last year we didn’t have the team to even make a challenge for the trophy. Our team was not there. There were a lot of mistakes. Mistakes in auctions. Mistakes in preparation. This year we have tried to plug those mistakes. We have realized what comfort a balanced squad gives,” said Goenka.
