Mohammed Shami prepares for his first match in LSG colors against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow (Image credit: Agencies) NEW DELHI: Visuals of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goen talking to his former captain KL Rahul on the boundary ropes during IPL 2024 and then to current captain Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025 after defeats have gone viral and have not gone down well with fans. There was considerable chatter among cricket fans about Goenka’s strict approach, with many believing that he demanded strong results from his team.However, LSG star pacer Mohammed Shami defended the owner and said that Goenka is passionate about cricket and communicates well with the players.Shami, who will feature in his first match in LSG colors against Delhi Capitals at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday, said it is natural for someone who invests heavily in the team to have high expectations.
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Mike Hussey admits CSK were outplayed after the batting collapse “If I met, I met him 2-3 times so far. He talked in a very nice way, he talked about logic, he talked about the team. And you see, any human being – when he invests so much in you to build his team, he spends such a huge amount, his expectations are high, that’s a normal thing. That’s also justified (I met him two or three times as much money, who invested in building a team. He will naturally have high expectations,” Shami said in a podcast with Shubhankar Mishra.LSG made it to the playoffs in their first two seasons in 2022 and 2023, but suffered disappointment in 2024 and 2025 as they failed to qualify for the playoffs.“So if Goenka ji is so possessive about that thing, then there is nothing wrong. If you keep your expectation that my player should do this, my player should do this best, then there is no harm in it. Many memes have also been created, many things have been created which are not true. Because you ask any normal human being to invest Rs 5000 and see something, 10 times. jaayein, mere 10 hazaar na chale jaayein (So if Goenka ji is so possessive of his team, there is nothing wrong. If he expects his players to perform at their best, there is nothing wrong. There have been many memes around it and many things that are wrong. If you take a normal person for 50 beats, his heart can be invested in 50 beats of their heart. lost),” the pacer added.The veteran pacer has played 119 IPL matches so far and has taken 133 wickets in his career.Shami, who was bought by LSG for Rs 10 crore, said he always had a positive experience interacting with Goenka. He has represented several franchises over the years including Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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Do you think Sanjiv Goenka’s expectations from the players are justified?
“A man has spent such a huge amount of money, he will expect everything. He will expect from you anything that makes him happy – and that thing is happy. If the person in front wants to talk to you, you should talk to you. If you want to discuss something, you should discuss it like this. Mainly there is a lot in cheese. open hoon. Jitni bhi baat ki hai, mudha kihäui, when someone invests such a huge amount they will expect everything that will bring them happiness – and that is right, if he wants to talk to you, you should really engage in that discussion.“But you see, a little bit happens every now and then. There are captains that you get frustrated with, the players are also where there is sometimes frustration. So when something happens somewhere and somebody expects it, so much drama has happened in us, so many memes have been created – all these things sometimes become unnecessary. (But look, somewhere or other, things happen. There are times when the players are frustrated, too frustrated with the captain. So if something happens and there are expectations involved, then all the drama and memes that follow – sometimes they just become pointless),” said the Indian pacer.
