IPL founder Lalit Modi came down hard on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka after his animated exchange with Rishabh Pant was caught on camera.
Lalit Modi slams LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka for Rishabh Pant treatment
LSG lost their IPL 2026 opener to Delhi Capitals (DC) at their home ground in Lucknow. Pant promoted himself up the order to open alongside Mitchell Marsh, but the move didn’t pay off as LSG could only score 141. DC stuttered to start with in their chase, but an unbeaten partnership between Sameer Rizvi and Tristan Stubbs took them through.
After the game, videos emerged of Goenka in an animated discussion with Pant and the coaching staff of Justin Langer and Tom Moody. The visuals didn’t go down well with many in the cricketing circles, with former England captain Michael Vaughan pointing out that there was “no need for this” just after the first game of the tournament.
Modi quoted Vaughan’s tweet and wrote he was “embarrassed” by Goenka’s behaviour, adding that if he “was still chairman and commissioner I would have banned him immediately and made him forfeit his ownership of the team forever.” He also claimed that “there is a clause in the franchise agreement for this exact issue.”
Modi posted another tweet over the issue, writing: "A material breach committed by Sanjiv Goenka which cannot be undone. Only way out is he is banned from cricket globally and the franchise is taken away from him."
This isn’t the first time that Goenka has been called out for having animated discussions with LSG captains on the field right after a game. He had publicly criticised KL Rahul for his performances, and videos of their heated conversations had also gone viral. Pant faced similar situations during IPL 2025.
Also read: Why Rishabh Pant opened vs DC, and why he shouldn't have
LSG post ‘true story’ behind the viral video featuring Rishabh Pant and Sanjiv Goenka
After a segment from the live feed featuring Pant and Goenka went viral, LSG tried to clear the air by posting a video of the said discussion with the caption: “Not everything you see is the true story, here’s the unfiltered post-match vibes, when cameras don’t cut.”
Some feel the video was re-shot and wasn't the original conversation that went viral on social media.
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