Rishabh Pant's eight-year association with Delhi Capitals has come to an end as he has decided to enter the IPL 2025 auction. Despite captaining the team last season, where they finished sixth in the points table, Pant opted not to renew his contract with Delhi.
Delhi Capitals released Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant has been an integral part of Delhi's journey since 2016, playing a crucial role in shaping the team's future. However, recent reports suggest that the Indian wicketkeeper-batter was not included in the team's future plans after the GMR Group and JSW Group decided to split their responsibilities. While Pant had a retention offer on the table, the changing dynamics within the franchise led to his decision to enter the auction as a free agent.
Whey did DC part ways with Rishabh Pant?
Pant informed the Delhi Capitals management of his decision to enter the IPL 2025 auction in the second week of October. Given his talent and potential, he is expected to attract significant interest from various franchises and command a hefty price in the upcoming mega auction.
"Pant has had a cordial relationship with both owners. But it was getting difficult to have a common vision and direction where the team was headed. To get so many people on the same page at so many levels was something he was unsure of. It was a very emotional moment for all the stakeholders. Pant has been an integral part of the franchise since he was first bought in 2016. The owners and Pant didn't want this relationship to end easily. So, they kept trying till the end. But Pant decided that he would rather leave on good terms and be a bone of contention," TOI quoted a source as saying.
Delhi Capitals have appointed Hemang Badani as their new head coach and Venugopal Rao as the Director of Cricket. Notably, these appointments were made without consulting Rishabh Pant, who was previously the captain of the team.
"The GMR group was the sole owner of the team when Pant was bought in 2016. They share a very fond relationship with Pant. But Pant expected a greater role in the franchise which was agreed upon in Aug. But somehow that wasn't translating into anything."
DC ended up retaining Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs and Abishek Porel ahead of IPL 2025 auction.
Here's a list of DC's retained players
Axar Patel - (Rs. 16.5 crore)
Kuldeep Yadav - (Rs. 13.25 crore)
Tristan Stubbs - (Rs. 10 crore)
Abishek Porel - (Rs. 4 crore)
