Rishabh Pant released due to demand for more money? New DC head coach reveals why ex-captain wasn't retained
Hemang Badani, the new Delhi Capitals head coach, further revealed the behind-the-scenes of Rishabh Pant's non-retention before the IPL 2025 auction. The Capitals used RTM for Pant at Rs 20.75 crore before the Lucknow Super Giants raised the bid to Rs 27 crore and got his services.
Rishabh Pant getting into the IPL auction was one of the stories of the retention, release and eventually the mega auction process in the run-up to the 18th edition of the cash-rich league. Pant ended up being the most expensive player in IPL history with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) splurging Rs 27 crore him, however, his release from the Delhi Capitals (DC) wasn't about money. At least that's what Pant himself and co-owner Parth Jindal suggested in their respective words.
"My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say," Pant had said in response to Star Sports' video where Sunil Gavaskar suggested that the two parties may have not agreed on the money. Jindal too had mentioned that Pant wanted to have a say in who is appointed as the coaches after Ricky Ponting's departure and reports stated that he wasn't happy with the new team management and wanted to walk out.
However, the new DC head coach Hemang Badani suggested that it was about money. "I think it's the other way around. He wanted not to be retained. He said he wanted to to the auction and test the market," Badani told S Badrinath on his YouTube channel.
"If you want to retain a player, both parties (the team and the player) have to agree on certain things. We tried talking to him, the management tried talking to him. There were a lot of phone calls and messages exchanged.
"Yes (Delhi Capitals were interested in retaining him). He said he wanted to go to the auction and test the market. He said he had a feeling that there were chances he would get more money than the highest cap for retained player, which is Rs 18 crore.
"And, at the end of the day, he felt he was worth more. And the market said the same thing. He got Rs 27 crore. Good for him. He is a very good player. We will obviously miss him. But, life goes on," Badani added.
Jindal after the IPL auction revealed what had transpired. "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 agree. We agreed to disagree," Jindal told India Today after the IPL auction.
The Capitals used RTM for Pant at Rs 20.75 crore as Jindal mentioned that there were differences but they were ready to sort it out and hence used the right-to-match card before the Lucknow Super Giants raised the bid to Rs 27 crore and got his services. The two franchises exchanged their marquee players as LSG got Pant while the Capitals got KL Rahul from the Super Giants for Rs 14 crore.