Former South African captain and RCB legend AB de Villiers has suggested that Rishabh Pant's high-profile return to Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2027 season was driven by growing frustration with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) hierarchy.
AB de Villiers on Rishabh Pant's LSG exit
Speaking on his YouTube channel, De Villiers stated that Pant's post-match body language and interviews during a difficult campaign hinted at underlying friction between the wicketkeeper-batter, the team's ownership, and the coaching staff.
"Looking at some of his post-match interviews, there were already signs of him being frustrated and maybe the frustration is coming from the ownership and coaching staff as well. So he is returning back to DC," de Villiers said.
The blockbuster trade sees Pant rejoin his former franchise, Delhi Capitals, in exchange for premier wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. To facilitate the move back to Delhi, the explosive southpaw notably accepted a pay cut to sign for Rs 15 crore. This comes after LSG had previously retained him for a staggering Rs 27 crore, a massive investment that ultimately failed to yield the on-field success or synergy that both the player and the franchise had envisioned.
Pant’s brief tenure with Super Giants culminated in a highly disappointing IPL 2026 season, where the team struggled for consistency and finished at the bottom of the points table. On a personal level, the left-hander endured a quiet run by his standards, aggregating 312 runs across 13 innings at an average of 28.36 and a strike rate of 138.05. According to De Villiers, the immense pressure of these poor results, compounded by a challenging environment behind the scenes, made Pant's homecoming to Delhi a logical next step.
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The former South African star also found it intriguing that Rishabh Pant’s brief exit and swift return allowed him to effectively bypass the GMR ownership cycle, aligning perfectly with JSW's re-entry. Despite the administrative complexity, the move marks a sentimental homecoming for Pant, who originally launched his IPL career with Delhi in 2016 for ₹1.9 crore. Across a highly successful nine-season first stint, he established himself as the bedrock of the franchise and eventually took over the captaincy, cementing his legacy as a homegrown icon.
Rishabh Pant's robust track record with DC
Statistically, Pant returns as the Capitals' all-time leading run-scorer, having amassed 3,284 runs in 110 innings during his initial tenure at an average of 35.31 and a destructive strike rate of 148.93. His peak individual campaign came in 2018, a blockbuster year where he blasted 684 runs at a staggering average of 52.61 and a strike rate of 173.60, including a career-best unbeaten 128. He also proved his mettle as a leader, guiding the team to 23 victories in 43 matches as skipper, highlighted by a stellar 2021 season where Delhi finished at the top of the league stage before bowing out in the playoffs.