India, June 23 -- It's now official. The most expensive buy in the history of the Indian Premier League will no longer represent the franchise that shelled out a gargantuan Rs.27 crore at the mega auction in Jeddah in November 2024.

Rishabh Pant had moved from Delhi Capitals to Lucknow Super Giants with much fanfare, though among Pant fans and neutrals, there was a sense of apprehension, if not trepidation. Team owner Sanjiv Goenka's on-field takedown of then captain KL Rahul during IPL 2024 became a seminal, if avoidable, part of IPL history. What was the guarantee, the sceptics questioned, that Pant wouldn't be subject to the same treatment.

First dates are always full of bonhomie and a gung-ho mentality, and Goenka and Pant seemed to...