IPL Auction 2025: Delhi Capitals' Rishabh Pant strategy leaked

Rishabh Pant's absence from the retention list of Delhi Capitals was one of the most surprising things. It is believed the franchise and Pant did not reach a conclusion which forced them to part ways.

However, Delhi Capitals still have a chance to retain their former captain through the RTM card. The Capitals have two RTM cards left and they can use one of them to retain Rishabh Pant.

Also read: Jasprit Bumrah disregards Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma Test captaincy

Delhi Capitals won't retain Rishabh Pant

However, in a new update, Pant won't be retained by Delhi Capitals through RTM. A source of Khel Now revealed that Pant was not involved in a great relationship with one of the co-owners of Delhi Capitals which is why he was not retained.

“Delhi Capitals will not be using the RTM card on Rishabh Pant in the mega auction due to his relationship with one of the co-owners not being in the best shape,” a source was quoted as saying by Khel Now.

Recently, Delhi Capitals saw a change in the management after GMR group took over the responsibilities from the JSW Group. The new management seems to have brought new ideas under the new head coach Hemang Badani.

Even Rishabh Pant cleared it recently that his termination of contract with Delhi Capitals wasn't about money. He made it clear through his social media account on X (formerly Twitter). "My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say," Pant posted.

My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say 🤍

— Pant (@RishabhPant17) November 19, 2024

Delhi Capitals are jointly owned by the GMR Group and the JSW Group. Kiran Grandhi's GMR group had bought the franchise way back in 2008 in the name of Delhi Daredevils. In 2018, the GMR sold 50% of the stake to Parth Jindal, the owner of HSW Group.

The owners have an agreement according to which they have a two-year to restate the team's cricket operations for both IPL and WPL teams. For the 2025-26 cycle, the GMR group will run the IPL team while the JSW Group will run the women's team.

Rishabh Pant's IPL record

Pant played for Delhi Capitals ever since his IPL debut way back in 2016. The left-hander has a tremendous IPL record and has become a marquee player now.

The wicketkeeper-batter has played 111 matches and scored 3284 runs at an average of 35.31 and a strike rate of 148.93. He could be the most expensive player in the IPL 2025 auction.

Retained players for Delhi Capitals

While Delhi Capitals did not retain Rishabh Pant, they retained Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Tristan Stubbs as the three capped players. They have also retained the young wicketkeeper Abishek Porel as the only uncapped player in the squad.

The Capitals have two RTM cards to use and they are likely to go hard for Shreyas Iyer in the IPL 2025 auction as they are desperately looking for a captain. Iyer had also been released by Kolkata Knight Riders as both parties decided to part ways.