In what comes as big news, Rishabh Pant is all set to go into the IPL mega auction for the upcoming 2025 season. Delhi Capitals (DC) are unlikely to retain their captain from the previous editions. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are expected to be the top retentions with Tristan Stubbs and Abishek Porel being the other players who will be retained.
According to a report on Times of India (TOI), DC were open to the idea of keeping Pant in their setup. But it was not as captain. They wanted to invest in a younger skipper. It is understood that Pant and DC had numerous conversations but it did not seem to work out.
A source revealed that Pant wanted to be involved in decision-making of who the DC coaches would be after Ricky Ponting bid adieu. However, there are reports that not a lot of people in the DC management are happy with Pant’s T20 game.
“Rishabh Pant wanted captaincy, wanted to be involved with regards to appointment of coaches and support staff but plenty in the DC set-up are not convinced about his T20 game. It wasn’t that they wanted to let him go but they were clear that they didn’t see him leading the side. And that decision wasn’t an overnight one,” a source was quoted saying to TOI.
DC on the lookout for a new captain
Pant is set to leave DC after nine years. He joined the franchise back in 2016 and has been with them since then. In fact, he has led them in half of 2021, 2022 and 2024.
With the left-handed wicket-keeper batter set to be released, Delhi will need to find a captain. There is Axar Patel in the ranks who led in one of the games where Pant was banned (for slow over-rate). However, it is understood that the DC management might be on the lookout for a new captain. Shreyas Iyer could be one of their targets if he enters the auction.
Axar and Kuldeep have been excellent for the 2020 IPL finalists. The left-arm spinning all-rounder has taken 62 wickets at an economy rate of 7.07 for Delhi and has made 967 runs at a strike-rate of 134.12. Kuldeep has returned with 47 scalps in 39 outings at an economy of 8.13 in the last three seasons.
Stubbs has been excellent in his role as a finisher. He smashed 378 runs at a stunning strike-rate of 190.91 in the IPL 2024, hitting 26 sixes. Abishek Porel also impressed last season. He aggregated 327 runs at an average of 32.70 and a strike-rate of 159.51.
