Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) batter Nicholas Pooran has revealed that owner Sanjiv Goenka has been ‘brilliant’ in his support for the franchise, while ‘allowing’ the players to ‘make the decisions’.
The southpaw also hoped that LSG would be able to repay the backing they have received from Goenka by qualifying for the IPL 2025 playoffs.
The Super Giants are currently holding sixth spot on the 10-team points table with five wins from nine outings.
Goenka has been in the limelight since his public outburst at former skipper KL Rahul during the IPL 2024 season. The LSG owner is usually present for all matches and is often seen speaking in the dressing room as well.
“He’s been brilliant when it comes to supporting the guys," Pooran told PTI in an interview.
“He allowed the guys to make the decisions, based on the cricket. That’s what I have felt so far. The owners have given the guys enough opportunities and obviously that has an impact on the game for the whole team and that was wonderful. Obviously it’s business end and with his backing, hopefully the guys can come up trumps now," he added.
Pooran also spoke about the common factor in his and LSG skipper Rishabh Pant’s journeys -- a horrific car crash. Pooran had multiple surgeries in 2015 after a near-fatal accident in Trinidad and was wheelchair-bound for a long time, much like Pant’s incident in December 2022.
“Even before the incident we (him and Pant) had a good relationship. We always connect. We always chat, get together whenever we can. If he’s in the Caribbean or if I’m here. Accident is just something which was really unfortunate in our respective journeys but the bright side is we’re here playing cricket today. And that is a wonderful feeling. But yeah, we share our experiences. We try to help each other as much as we can," Pooran said.
Nichloas Pooran is having a great time in the ongoing IPL. The left-hander has amassed 377 runs with a brilliant strike rate of 204 and is third on the Orange Cap list, only behind Sai Sudharsan (417 runs) and Virat Kohli (392 runs).
Pooran will be next seen in action during LSG’s match against Mumbai Indians, scheduled for April 27 at the Wankhede Stadium.
