Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is reportedly set to be announced as the new captain of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a gala event which is expected to be held in Kolkata ahead of the next edition of the Indian Premier League - IPL 2025.

Pant, who preferred to be released into the auction, was roped in by LSG for a whopping Rs 27 Crore, the highest for any player, during last year's two-day mega auction. Despite LSG splashing the cash on the wicketkeeper-batter, there is no confirmation on who will lead the side in the upcoming season.

Earlier reports suggested, Pant, who brings captaincy experience from his stint with Delhi Capitals (DC), will be a no-brainer choice, but the franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka has remained tight-lipped on the next captain of the team after parting ways with former skipper KL Rahul.

There was speculation on the captaincy role especially after the Super Giants retained West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran for Rs 21 Crore. Pooran has previously led the Super Giants, while the arrival of several other international captains had left LSG spoilt for choice.

Although South Africa's Aiden Markram and Australia's Mitchell Marsh also enter in the debate for captaincy, a recent report from , confirms that Pant is set to be the Super Giants' choice as captain.

"Rishabh Pant is all set to be announced as captain of the Lucknow Supergiants at a gala event in Kollkata," sources told CricBlogger on Saturday (January 18) with the date of the said event still not revealed.

Pant parted ways with Delhi Capitals just before the auction as he opted to enter the auction, where his former side indeed tried matching LSG's bid of Rs 20.75 crore, but could not match the final bid of Rs 27 Crore, which made the Indian wicketkeeper the most expenisve player in IPL history.

Before Pant was picked up by LSG, another indemand captaincy material player, Shreyas Iyer was bagged by Punjab Kings for a massive Rs 26.75 crore. Shreyas was only named the PBKS skipper earlier this week in a unique way - during an episode of the popular reality show Bigg Boss.

Fresh from guiding Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL title in 2024, Iyer takes over the role at PBKS, who were backed to land Pant as their captaincy option to be reunited with Ricky Ponting. But, the auction dynamics saw both players end at different teams with another captain heading to their former side DC.

KL Rahul proved to be the steal-deal of the IPL Mega Auction in November 2024 after the Karnataka batter, who was heavy favorite to return to his hometown side Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), ended up at DC.

Despite Rahul's arrival, DC are reportedly set to appoint Axar Patel as the captain of the side ahead of IPL 2025, rewarding the spin all-rounder, who has stuck with the franchise for a few years now.