On and off the sphere, Lucknow Super Giants look like coping with recurring narratives. As if their six-wicket home loss to the Delhi Capitals on Wednesday wasn’t enough, the franchise landed in fresh controversy after a viral post-match clip featuring owner Sanjiv Goenka and captain Rishabh Pant sparked comparisons with last season’s episode involving KL Rahul.
Lucknow endured one more batting failure on the Ekana Cricket Stadium, putting up only 142. Although they threatened a comeback while defending the overall, a gentle innings from Sameer Rizvi helped Delhi seal the chase with 17 balls remaining. Still, it was the events after the sport that grabbed the highlight.
Goenka was seen in an intense exchange with Pant, with head coach Justin Langer also present. Despite the clips lacking audio, they quickly fuelled speculation online, with many drawing parallels to the widely criticised interaction between Goenka and Rahul in the course of the 2024 season.
That episode was widely seen as a public reprimand, sparking a bigger debate in regards to the role of franchise owners and whether such conversations should happen away from public view. Unsurprisingly, the emergence of comparable visuals involving Rishabh Pant has reignited that discussion.
Amid mounting criticism, Lucknow Super Giants responded through their official social media handle, sharing what they termed an “unfiltered clip” of the interaction.
The caption read: “Not every part you see is the true story, here’s the unfiltered post-match vibes, when cameras don’t cut.”
Pant, Goenka share hug; no visible tension in clip
Although the prolonged clip featured audio, the voices of Rishabh Pant, Justin Langer, and Sanjiv Goenka weren’t clearly audible. Nevertheless, the visuals conveyed a unique impression—Pant and Goenka seemed relaxed and even shared a hug soon after their interaction, indicating there was no obvious tension.
The clarification from Lucknow Super Giants helped calm the narrative, at the very least to some extent.
Not every part you see is the true story, here’s the unfiltered post match vibes, when cameras don’t cut. pic.twitter.com/EiPMWrmlkQ
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) April 2, 2026
Sanjiv Goenka selected not to handle the controversy head-on, as an alternative turning his attention to the broader perspective in a social media post.
He wrote: “It is a long season, and moments like these are a part of constructing something meaningful. I actually have full confidence in our captain and the team to reply with strength. To our fans, thanks to your support at Ekana today, we are going to come back stronger. The story of LSG this season is way from written.”
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