At 27 crore, went over budget to buy Rishabh Pant, says LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka

New Delhi: Lucknow Super Giants admitted they went over their budget to buy Rishabh Pant for Rs 27 crore at the IPL mega auctions, making the costliest player in the history of the glamour tournament.

In Jeddah on Sunday, LSG were locked in an intense bidding war with Delhi Capitals for the star India keeper-batter. Delhi used the right to match card to bid for him at Rs 20.75 crore.

LSG owner Pant then bid Rs 27 crore to get the left hander, who is currently playing for the Indian team in the first Test against Australia in Perth.

They broke the Rs 26.75 crore mark set by Punjab Kings for Shreyas Iyer, making jim the costliest player momentarily, surpassing Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rs 24.75 crore for Australian pacer Mitchell Starc last year.

Reacting to Pant’s signing, Goenka said they “slightly” overpaid for him.

“This was part of our plan, he was on our list. We had kept about Rs 26-crore for him. So, 27 was slightly up but we’re happy to have him,” he said.

“He’s an outstanding player, a team-man, a match-winner. All our fans should be very, very happy to have him as a member of LSG.”

Asked how they arrived at the magic figure, Goenka’s son Saswat said: “Like Ricky was saying, what happens at the auction table happens at the auction table, no matter how much you planned for it. Things don’t work out that way.

“It wasn’t really a magic number; it was just what we felt at that moment would have been the right number for us to ensure that the RTM doesn’t get exercised,” he added.

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 Lucknow Super Giants admitted they went over their budget to buy Rishabh Pant for Rs 27 crore at the IPL mega auctions, making the costliest player in the history of the glamour tournament.  Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today