Team India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has opened up on his non-retention by Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2025 Mega Auction later this week.
Team India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant will be one of the biggest draws in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction which takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25. Delhi Capitals have decided not to retain their former skipper ahead of the mega auction but there is speculation that there is more to the story.
Pant confirmed that his non-retention by DC wasn’t about money. On an IPL 2025 Mega Auction show on Star Sports, former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar claimed that DC might want to bring back Pant through the auction.
“When a player is supposed to be retained there is talk between the franchise and the player over their fees. As you can see, some of the players who have been retained by the franchise have gone for more than what number one player retention fee deduction would be. So clearly I think there was some disagreement over there. My feeling is that Delhi Capitals will want Rishabh Pant back because they need a captain as well. If Pant is not in their squad they would need a new captain as well,” Gavaskar said.
In response to this video, Pant tweeted, “My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say”.
My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say 🤍
— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) November 19, 2024
It clearly means that there was major disagreements between current DC management which is run by the GMR Group for the next couple of years. Delhi Capitals are jointly owned by GMR Group and JSW Sports who will be running the franchise alternately for a couple of years.
It is believed that Pant had long discussion with the GMR Group management and the latter were not keen on bringing back the Indian wicketkeeper as captain of the franchise for the upcoming IPL 2025 season.
Pant has missed the IPL 2023 season after a life-threatening car accident in December 2022 which kept him out of action for more than a year. He made a comeback in IPL 2024 season and scored 446 runs in 13 matches with three fifties and a strike-rate of 155.4.
According to reports, GMR Group are looking for a fresh start under new head coach Hemang Badani and are looking at someone like Axar Patel to lead the side or bringing back former captain Shreyas Iyer through the IPL 2025 mega auction to captain the team.
Pant is part of the ‘marquee list’ in the IPL 2025 mega auction with a base price of Rs 2 crore.
