We lost the IPL final just as we were poised to win. Smith and MS Dhoni…’: LSG owner goes beyond in a subliminal message to KL Rahul
Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of LSG, used the history of RPS under MS Dhoni and Steve Smith to subtly address LSG skipper KL Rahul.
Owner of the Lucknow Super Giants Sanjiv Goenka alluded to his time spent with Steve Smith, MS Dhoni, and the Rising Pune Supergiant in an attempt to subtly place the blame for LSG’s bad decision-making in the IPL 2024 on team management and captain KL Rahul. Following their two consecutive seasons of making the playoffs, LSG finished seventh in the most recent edition, which led to rumors that KL Rahul will be cut from the team. Since then, Goenka and Rahul have met multiple times, but they have not yet come to an agreement.
LSG revealed Zaheer Khan as their guru in the midst of all of this. Before the 2024 Indian Premier League, the former pacer for India will replace Gautam Gambhir.
Goenka believed that in the previous season, LSG lacked an Indian brain like Gambhir to assist them in making critical decisions under pressure.
“Last year, I felt that an Indian mind, you can call him a mentor or anything, who has that fierce desire to win, was lacking a bit. Zaheer, even when, he was a player was very determined to win. That was his only aim. I want that,” he told Sports Tak.
After LSG’s loss to SRH this year, a video of his animated conversation with skipper KL Rahul went viral. Goenka made it clear that he was not pleased with the team management’s explanations for their dismal performance in the 17th edition, even if he did not specifically mention Rahul or the leadership group.
“I won’t be happy if someone tells me we didn’t play well today. Then, on the following two days, does the same thing. I’ll thus ask him “why.” Although a single player may struggle, the starting eleven cannot consistently struggle. Zaheer’s potential role in making decisions. Last season, Gautam’s role was underwhelming. Thus, I’m expecting Zaheer to focus on making such decisions,” he stated.
Goenka discusses LSG ambitions by drawing on the histories of Dhoni, Smith, and the RPS.
Goenka is the owner of an IPL franchise for the second time. In the IPL 2016 and 2017, his RPSG company owned Rising Pune Supergiant, a response to BCCI’s request for two new franchises, one for two years, to replace the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
MS Dhoni led the club in its inaugural season, however he was replaced as captain by Smith prior to the following campaign. Despite being in a dominant position till the halfway point of the match, RPS was unable to chase down 130 against Mumbai Indians, even though they advanced to the IPL 2027 finals.
Goenka remarked that the team’s inexperience was the cause. “The Super Giants have five years of IPL experience under their belt. Of these, three were with Lucknow and two were with Pune. The Pune team was new and inexperienced when we got to the finals. We didn’t have much experience in the squad, so you leave out Steve Smith and MS Dhoni,” he remarked.
“We were on the verge of victory in the final, but we lost because of inexperience. Thus, it’s crucial to make the appropriate decisions when things get tight.”
Goenka’s claim that the team lacks experience, with the exception of Dhoni and Smith, is untrue, as RPS fielded players in the final that included Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Dan Christian, and Jaydev Unadkat.
Mumbai is known for its winning streak. They should all strive to have a never-say-die mentality. Pune was supposed to win, however they fell short on their own due to Mumbai’s pressure. Lucknow has to adopt this mindset. We would never succeed otherwise. We need to have self-confidence,” he stated.
