next to Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, Lucknow Supergiants (LSG) owner Sanjeev Goenka said reaching the playoffs is not enough and the team must win the title to gain “respect”.Goenka said the franchise is still making its mark and success in the league is measured by trophies rather than just consistency.“I think the real identity is still being developed. For any sports team, until you win, you don’t get the respect or love that you get after lifting the trophy. Yes, we’ve made the playoffs twice, but it’s not that good. You win some, lose some, but we have to win our first trophy,” Goenka told ANIST News.
He also pointed to the positive aspects of the IPL 2025 season, where the team won four of its 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 thing was that we won four of our first six matches despite injuries to most of our front-line bowlers. There were some bold moves, opening from Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh, which is not their usual position, and it turned out to be a great IPL season for both of them. Digvesh Rathi came in as a complete newcomer and did well for us. However, we bowled strongly, we bowled really strongly. This time he addressed it by forming the Domestic Indian Bowling Unit. We are happy with what we have,” he added.Goenka said that the current squad has the desired balance and the focus is now on performing as a group rather than relying on individual performance.“You can always improve, aspire to improve, there is no end to improvement. But at the end of the day, this is a squad that has everything it needs. Now it’s about coming together and performing as a unit rather than individually. Last year there were a lot of people performing. This year, we want to perform as a team,” he said.Led by Lucknow Supergiants Rishabh Pantwill begin 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 leg of the tournament.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the schedule for the first phase of the season, which will run from March 28 to April 12. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play their opening match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
