Sanjeev Goenka, the owner of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), thought back on his previous Indian Premier League (IPL) experience. He highlighted key distinctions that speak to the leadership of his present squad, especially captain KL Rahul.
In contrast to their playoff berths in the previous two seasons, Goenka’s revelation follows the team’s poor seventh-place finish in the 2024 Indian Premier League.The autumn has heightened rumours about possible adjustments to the leadership structure. Goenka talked about the pivotal occasion from the 2017 IPL final, recalling his time with Rising Pune Supergiant/s (RPS) in 2016 and 2017.
“We were on the verge of winning the championship, but we fell short because of inexperience. So, in those crucial situations, making the proper decisions is essential,” he said to Sports Tak.
If someone tells me we didn’t play well today, I won’t be satisfied: Sanjeev Goenka
In order to lead the team, Goenka highlighted the importance of having an Indian mentality and a strong drive to succeed. He said he wasn’t happy with how the current administration was addressing subpar work. Along with applauding Gautam Gambhir’s contribution, he expressed high hopes for Zaheer Khan, the new mentor.
“If someone tells me we didn’t play well today, I won’t be satisfied. Then does the same thing every day for the next two days. I’ll thus question him, “Why?” Players from the starting eleven cannot consistently be out of form, however one player may be. The part Zaheer can play in determining decisions. Gautam’s role in the previous season was underwhelming. Thus, I expect Zaheer to focus on making such decisions,” he continued.
It’s interesting to note that Goenka’s memory of the RPS team, which was captained by Steve Smith and then MS Dhoni, appears to refute his claim regarding inexperience. Veterans like Ajinkya Rahane and Dan Christian were on the 2017 RPS team, indicating that skill alone might not be enough to secure victory.
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“It has been five years since the Super Giants family entered the IPL. Three of those belonged to Lucknow, and two to Pune. Pune was a young, inexperienced team when we got to the finals. He went on, “You leave out Steve Smith and MS Dhoni; we didn’t have much experience in the team.”