Kamal Ghorui
Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka said that reaching the playoffs is not enough and that the team must win the title to earn “respect”.Goenka said the franchise is still shaping its identity and that success in the league is measured by trophies rather than consistency alone.“I think the true identity is still evolving. For any sports team, until you win, you don’t receive the same level of respect or affection that comes with lifting the trophy. Yes, we’ve made the playoffs twice, but that’s clearly not good enough. You win some, you lose some, but we have to win our first trophy,” Goenka said while speaking on JioStar, as cited by news agency ANI.
He also pointed to positives from the IPL 2025 season, where the team won four of their first six matches despite injuries to key bowlers. Goenka highlighted decisions such as promoting Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh to open, both of whom delivered, and the emergence of Digvesh Rathi with the ball.“The positive was that we won four of our first six games despite most of our frontline bowlers being injured. There were some bold moves, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh opening, which isn’t their usual position, and it turned out to be best IPL season for both of them. Digvesh Rathi came in as a complete newcomer and did well for us. However, we did realise that we lacked a strong bowling core, and we’ve consciously addressed that by building a domestic Indian bowling unit this time. We’re happy with what we have,” he added.Goenka said the current squad has the required balance and the focus now is on delivering as a group rather than relying on individual performances.“You can always improve, aspire to do better, there’s no end to improving. But at the end of the day, this is a squad that has everything required. Now it’s about coming together and performing as a unit, rather than as individuals. Last year, there were too many individuals performing. This year, we want to perform as a team,” he said.Lucknow Super Giants, led by Rishabh Pant, will open their IPL 2026 campaign against Delhi Capitals on April 1. They will then face Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 5, Kolkata Knight Riders on April 9 and Gujarat Titans on April 12 in the first phase of the tournament.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the schedule for the first phase of the season, which runs from March 28 to April 12. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play the opening match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
