New Delhi: Former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi never misses a chance to slam the Lucknow Super Giants team owner Sanjiv Goenka. And his recent interview was no different. Modi called Goenka the “worst franchise owner”.
“He (Goenka) shouldn’t own a bloody franchise. He is a profit-and-loss-making guy. He should stick to his electricity business and his ‘sa re ga ma’,” Modi said during his recent appearance on the Humans of Bombay podcast.
Modi accused Goenka of bringing the IPL ratings down and even called LSG the “worst performing team”.
“He is now the meme king,” Modi said, adding that one of his sources told him that Goenka is “loving it”. He even announced a contest where he would give a Rolex to the most-viewed meme on Goenka.
Past criticism
Modi criticised Goenka after the LSG owner’s animated post-match argument with former team captain Rishabh Pant went viral.
On 29 May, LSG announced that Pant would be stepping down as captain. Reacting to the development, Modi called out Goenka for failing to honour his earlier commitment to back Pant for the long term.
That was fast. And here @DrSanjivGoenka went Blah blah all over media how He will keep @rishabhpant for 10-15 years. I can bet anything The young player could not stay day longer in a Team owned by this man as he could not take the public humiliation he was subjected to. Sad day… pic.twitter.com/ejxF8fzKOk
— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) May 29, 2026
Modi argued that the incident raises a larger question about player rights in the IPL. He pointed out that players selected at auction have little say in choosing their franchise, even if they feel they are operating in a hostile environment.
“Does a player have the choice not to play for a particular team if he feels he could be tormented? No, he does not. Is that fair? Absolutely not,” he said.
Calling for reforms, Modi proposed an anonymous grievance mechanism through which players could report concerns. He also suggested stricter boundaries between owners and players, including barring owners from auctions, dressing-room access, and on-field interactions during matches.
He concluded by saying that stronger safeguards are needed to protect players’ mental well-being and prevent toxic team environments from developing within franchises.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
Also read: Lalit Modi says he was a ‘kept boyfriend’ of Sushmita Sen