Former Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Suresh Raina hinted that former Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant will most likely to join Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side. He revealed that the swashbuckling star met legendary MS Dhoni in Delhi.
The player retention lists for the Indian Premier League (IPL) were revealed by each franchise on Wednesday. MS Dhoni has been retained as an uncapped player for ₹4 crore, following a new IPL rule that permits franchises to retain Indian players who retired five years ago as uncapped. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals (DC) have released Rishabh Pant after his eight-season stint with the team, which began in 2016.
Speaking at JioCinema, Raina said, "I met MS Dhoni in Delhi, Pant was also there. I think something big is to happen. Someone will be wearing a yellow jersey soon."
Interestingly, there are numerous media speculations suggesting that Rishabh Pant might be heading to CSK. This wouldn’t be unexpected, especially with Dhoni, now 43, nearing the end of his career. Pant could emerge as a prominent figure for the franchise, potentially taking on the roles of wicketkeeper-batter or even captain if required.
During his time with Delhi Capitals, Pant played 111 matches and scored 3,284 runs at an impressive average of 148.93, including one century and 17 fifties, with his highest score being 128*. He holds the record as the franchise's top run-scorer. Under his leadership, DC made it to the playoffs in 2021, though they couldn’t advance beyond the league stages in 2022 and 2024.
In the last IPL outing during 2024, Pant scored 446 runs in 13 matches for the franchise in his comeback season at an average of over 40 and a strike rate of above 155. He scored three half-centuries and had the best score of 88*. While he was the top run-getter for the franchise that season, it could not help them reach playoffs as they missed out on the final four spots with seven wins and losses each, giving them 14 points to finish at sixth spot.
DC have decided to retain all-rounder Axar Patel, spinner Kuldeep Yadav, batters Tristan Stubbs, and Abishek Porel ahead of this year's mega auction.
Earlier in the month, former Indian cricketers Hemang Badani and Venugopal Rao joined the Delhi Capitals coaching staff as head coach and director of cricket, respectively, ahead of the next IPL season.
Meanwhile, cricketing icon and one of India's most successful captains, Sourav Ganguly, has been appointed as director of cricket.
