File photo of Rishabh Pant© BCCI/Sportzpics
In a major development that has emerged from the Indian Premier League (IPL) is that Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant is looking to enter the mega auction. Pant, who has only played for the Delhi franchise his entire career, is reportedly no longer seen as a captain for the franchise. DC has undergone a major shift when it comes to the backroom staff, with the departures of Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly. Some big changes are likely to take place in the playing unit as well.
As per a report in the Times of India, Rishabh Pant is highly likely to enter the mega auction. Among the franchises keeping a tab on him, the name of Royal Challengers Bengaluru sits at the absolute top. The likes of Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings are also reportedly interesting in buying Pant as a captain for their side.
Earlier, Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal had hinted at a few names the franchise is eager to retain ahead of the 2025 season. The report, hence, stands contradictory to what Jindal had to say on the subject earlier this month.
"Yes, we definitely have to retain. We have some very good players in our team. The rules have just come out, so after discussing with GMR and our director of cricket, Sourav Ganguly, decisions will be made," Parth Jindal told IANS in an interview.
"Rishabh Pant will definitely be retained. We also have Axar Patel, who is excellent, Tristan Stubbs, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Kuldeep Yadav, Abishek Porel, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, all very good players in our team," he had further said during the conversation.
A few days ago, the JSW-GMR co-owned Delhi Capitals announced the appointment Hemang Badani and Venugopal Rao as the franchise's Head Coach (IPL) and Director of Cricket (IPL) respectively.
Franchises are expected to finalise their retention list by the end of this month.