At the IPL 2025 mega auction, Rishabh Pant made a historic move by joining the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) from the Delhi Capitals (DC) for a record-breaking Rs 27 crore. It did, however, follow DC's last-minute efforts to patch things up with their former captain. JSW CEO and DC co-owner Parth Jindal disclosed the franchise's initial plan, which was to bring back both Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, in an exclusive interview with Sports Today. This underscored the intricacies of this year's auction approach.
Jindal speaks on news about rift with Pant
In response to rumours of conflict between Pant and the DC management, Jindal said that disagreements started when Pant indicated that he wanted to have a say in choices about the team's leadership. Nevertheless, in an attempt to keep him, the franchise played their RTM card during the auction and gave reconciliation first priority. But DC was unable to match LSG's enormous price of Rs 27 crore, therefore the 27-year-old India wicketkeeper-batter joined the Lucknow-based team.
"We were willing to take that chance because of my relationship with Rishabh. Obviously, Delhi has two owners, GMR and JSW, we were all on the same wavelength, Kiran and I, in terms of what we discussed with Rishabh. When we felt that that commitment from his side was not forthcoming, then we felt it was better that he goes into the auction and we target somebody else in the auction," Parth Jindal said.
"I think we were on different wavelengths. He felt that he felt that he should have a say in some of these things (coach and director of cricket decisions)and we felt that's a franchise prerogative, so we couldn't really agree. We agreed to disagree," he added.
Following their IPL 2024 sixth-place result and failing to reach the playoffs, the Delhi Capitals announced a comprehensive reorganization of its management and coaching staff. Ricky Ponting was replaced as head coach by former India batter Hemang Badani, and Sourav Ganguly's post as Director of Cricket was taken over by former cricket player Venugopal Rao.
DC reveals Shreyas Iyer as their primary target
Reuniting with Shreyas Iyer, who had guided the squad to the IPL 2020 final, was DC's top priority at first. But after a hard-fought struggle, Punjab Kings outbid them and won Iyer for Rs 26.75 crore, thwarting their ambitions. Mitchell Starc's record of being the most expensive player in IPL history (Rs 24.75 crore) was surpassed by Iyer's fee, although it was broken just minutes before Pant's historic contract with LSG.
"Having lost our primary target, who was Shreyas Iyer at the auction, and Rishabh coming in after that, then we said it doesn't matter, we will mend our ways, and we will find a way to make it work with Rishabh," he added.