IPL Auction 2025: Rishabh Pant exits DC as franchise targets Shreyas Iyer for captaincy

Star wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant is now confirmed not to be retained by Delhi Capitals for the next season of Indian Premier League. In the last few days, there were speculations of Pant moving out of the franchise but that move has been confirmed now.

While Pant is not on the retention list of Delhi Capitals, the franchise has reportedly confirmed the retention of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, and Abishek Porel. The Capitals have also kept the Right to Match (RTM) option open for the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Pant has been associated with Delhi Capitals since his IPL debut in 2016. He has developed into a marquee player for the franchise over the years and has transformed into a world-class international wicketkeeper-batter.

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Why Rishabh Pant won't be in Delhi Capitals?

It is believed that the new management of Delhi Capitals, which is run by GMR group instead of the JSW Group, were interested in retaining Rishabh Pant but did not see him as a captain of the franchise.

But Pant had expressed his desire to lead an IPL franchise. Both the parties had various discussions regarding the matter but they did not reach any conclusion. As a result, Pant decided to go into the auction pool.

A source close to the matter confirmed that the new set-up of Delhi Capitals were not convinced with Pant's T20 batting. The source also mentioned that they wanted a different player to lead the franchise this time.

"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," the source was quoted as saying by TOI.

"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," the source added.

Rishabh Pant's journey with Delhi Capitals

Rishabh Pant was picked by Delhi Capitals after his prolific performances in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. He smashed 78 off just 24 balls against Nepal in one game and proved his credentials as a big-hitter.

He was appointed the captain of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021 and led the team into the playoffs in his first season as the skipper of the team. Delhi Capitals topped the group stage under his leadership but lost both playoff matches and were unable to qualify for the final.

Other options to lead Delhi Capitals

With no Pant, it remains to be seen who will lead the team now. Axar Patel is one of the emerging options as the left-arm spinner is set to be retained. Axar's growth as a T20 allrounder has been significant over the years and he has developed into a match-winner for the Indian team as well.

The Capitals are also likely to go high for Shreyas Iyer in the auction, who is also set to be released by Kolkata Knight Riders. Iyer led KKR to the title win in the IPL 2024 season and has shown promise as a captain.

The right-hander has the experience of leading Delhi Capitals before as well. He led Delhi to the IPL 2020 final when Ricky Ponting was the team's head coach. The Capitals lost to Mumbai Indians in the summit clash that season.