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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjeet Goenka has revealed that it was the captain and vice-captain’s call to rope in the Sri Lankan star pacer Matheesha Pathirana in the IPL 2026 mini-auction on Tuesday, December 16, in Abu Dhabi.
However, LSG failed to acquire the services of Pathirana as KKR eventually roped him at a whopping price of INR 18 Crore. Speaking to JioStar after the auction, Goenka revealed that INR 17.8 Crore was the absolute limit they had kept for Pathirana.
“Yes, our captain and vice-captain were both very keen on Matheesha Pathirana, as was I. We were also very interested in Anrich Nortje. Pathirana was our priority, and we went up to INR 17.8 crore, which was our absolute limit, we didn't have the purse to go beyond that,” Goenka told JioStar.
“When Anrich Nortje came up later, we were pleasantly surprised and delighted to secure him at the base price. So overall, it was a very considered, concerted, and well-thought-out decision,” he added.
“We are very close to our primary targets. Our key objectives were to secure one quality international leg-spinner and one reputed international fast bowler. Wanindu Hasaranga was our first-choice leg-spinner, and for the fast-bowling option, it was between Matheesha Pathirana and Anrich Nortje, We are delighted to have acquired two players who were part of our shortlisted three, so we are extremely happy with how the auction has unfolded.”
Eventually, LSG picked up players like Josh Inglis (₹8.6 crore), Mukul Choudhary (₹2.6 crore), Akshat Raghuwanshi (₹2.2 crore), Anrich Nortje (₹2 crore), Wanindu Hasaranga (₹2 crore) and Naman Tiwari (₹1 crore).
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) full squad for IPL 2026
Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram*, Akash Singh, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshin Kulkarni, Avesh Khan, Ayush Badoni, Digvesh Rathi, Himmat Singh, Manimaran Siddharth, Matthew Breetzke*, Mayank Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mitchell Marsh*, Mohsin Khan, Nicholas Pooran*, Prince Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shahbaz Ahmed, Josh Inglis*, Mukul Choudhary, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Anrich Nortje*, Wanindu Hasaranga*, Naman Tiwari.
*denotes overseas players.
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