IPL 2026: Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka and captain Rishabh Pant were caught on camera in a moment of visible tension between the two early in IPL 2026, drawing a sharp reaction from former England captain Michael Vaughan.
The episode unfolded after LSG suffered a defeat to DC in their opening match of the ongoing Indian Premier League. Moments after the game, Goenka and Pant were seen in an animated discussion near the boundary, and the visuals quickly went viral on social media.
However, this incident was a stark reminder of Goenka’s similar behavior towards KL Rahul, who was then the LSG captain in IPL 2024. That incident was widely viewed as a public fallout between the two, and unsurprisingly, many compared the Rahul episode with Wednesday’s exchange between Pant and Goenka on the field.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan also took to social media and wrote, “1 game into the Tournament .. No need for this ..
While there has been no official comment from the franchise or the player, the visuals have certainly triggered conversations around leadership dynamics and public interactions between team management and players.
🚨SANJIV GOENKA CLASH WITH RISHABH PANT🚨- Just look at Rishabh Pant’s face when Goenka questioned him just minutes after LSG’s loss to DC.🙄This is not good for the IPL. This is not good for any Indian player.🤯What’s your view on that?🤔pic.twitter.com/rLgylUsPsx
— Sam (@Cricsam01) April 2, 2026
Meanwhile, reflecting on the defeat, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant said: I think the best way to recover from it is to ignore (on his unlucky run-out). I think that’s the best way looking forward because you know something like that, you can’t control, but thinking about it definitely puts you on the back-foot.
On the idea behind sending Badoni ahead of Pooran, he said,”I think the idea was very simple. Like he’s (Pooran) taking the charge in the middle overs. He’s not batting in the top order anymore because I’m batting up the order. And that’s why it happened because, you know, we wanted to explore that lefty-righty option at the top so they couldn’t bowl a left-arm spinner. Unfortunately, I got out at the wrong. time. Otherwise, Axar Patel still had to bowl one over in the power play and that gives us the edge over them.”
“But you will definitely see me in the top order,” he signed off while talking to broadcasters.
