Lalit Modi, the Indian business tycoon and founder of the Indian Premier League, brutally bashed his brother-in-law and Lucknow Super Giants owner, Dr. Sanjiv Goenka. Modi recently appeared in the Humans of Bombay, where he minced no words and slammed Goenka, and labelled him the ‘worst franchise owner’, while questioning his ownership skills. Notably, Goenka owns the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League, and Modi, on the other hand, has time and again launched scathing attacks on Goenka.
In one of his recent interviews, Modi once again didn’t mince his words and asked Goenka to stay away from the league, accusing him of bringing down the ratings of the IPL. “I bash my own brother-in-law, Sanjiv Goenka. I think he is the worst franchise owner. He shouldn’t own a bl***y franchise. He doesn’t understand,” Modi told Humans of Bombay host, Karishma Mehta. “He is a profit and loss making guy. He should stick with his electricity and his sa re ga ma,” Modi further added.
Modi accuses Sanjiv Goenka of bringing IPL ratings down
In the same interview, Modi accused Goenka of bringing down the ratings of the Indian Premier League. Notably, when it comes to most loved and admired franchise owners, Goenka might not be on the list. It is mainly because of how he has been time and again seen behaving with his players and team captains following a tough phase. In 2017, he sacked MS Dhoni from the captaincy of Rising Pune Super Giants following a challenging season in 2016.
Later, he was spotted bashing KL Rahul on the field after poor performances, and now Rishabh Pant quit his captaincy after two poor seasons. This unfair treatment towards his franchise captains has time and again put Goenka on the receiving end of criticism from cricketer’s fans, and could have played a key role in lesser fan following of the Super Giants. Talking about it, Modi said, “He is bringing the bl**dy ratings down. He brought the IPL ratings down. It's the Lucknow Super Giants, the worst performing team.”
Modi went on to say that Goenka doesn’t have guts to scream at his own captain and is now the meme king amongst fans. Notably, the Super Giants finished at the bottom of the standings with just four wins in 14 games in IPL 2026.
