It seems like money wasn't the only factor for Rishabh Pant not staying at the Delhi Capitals, his domestic state-based franchise in the IPL for a 10th edition. Pant, who started his IPL career with the Capitals in 2016 after his exploits in the Under-19 World Cup, played eight seasons for the side (didn't play in 2023) and captained in three of them. However, Pant wasn't one of the four retentions for the Capitals ahead of the 2025 edition with a new coaching staff heading the decision-making for the side.
With GMR taking over the operations for the next two years as part of the rotational co-ownership policy with JSW, the Capitals appointed Hemang Badani and Y Venugopal Rao as the new coach and Director of Cricket with Ricky Ponting walking away following the 2024 edition of the IPL. Since GMR brought their coaching staff from the Dubai Capitals, the team they run in the ILT20, Sourav Ganguly, has also taken a backseat as far as the men's IPL team is concerned and the new management was the big reason for Pant's departure as well.
As per a PTI report, more than the money, the GMR owners curbing his powers in terms of decision-making regarding retentions and the new coaching staff was the prime reason why Pant decided to walk out. The report stated that Pant was also not happy with Badani and Rao's appointment as head coach and Director of Cricket respectively.
The Capitals retained Axar Patel as their top retention for INR 16.5 crore with Kuldeep Yadav getting the second retention for INR 13.25 crore and Tristan Stubbs being the third one for INR 10 crore. Abishek Porel at INR 4 crore was the fourth one as the one of the two uncapped retentions. The Capitals have two RTM options remaining at the mega auction. However, it looks unlikely that the Capitals will go after Pant, especially after the revelations.
Pant, though will be in high demand. A number of teams are in need of a captain and wicketkeeper batter but his ex-DC coach Ricky Ponting at Punjab Kings with the biggest purse might just be the favourite to reunite with Pant.
"Rishabh's real bidding will start from Rs 20 crore onwards. There will be three teams who can afford to bid big for him. One is Punjab Kings with Rs 110.5 crore in its kitty. They need a new captain and a brand. RCB has Rs 83 crore and LSG have Rs 69 crore and they also need a new captain," a top official of a franchise was quoted as saying by PTI.
Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are two other Indian captaincy options in the market and that's why the IPL 2025 mega auction promises to be action-packed with so many high-profile Indian and overseas names up for grabs.
(With PTI inputs)
