NEW DELHI: After months of intense discussions with the Delhi Capitals management, Rishabh Pant has finally decided to move on from the franchise and enter the IPL mega auction next month. Pant didn’t opt for retention following a very emotional call with the owners on Wednesday evening.
The development has thrown the auction wide open. TOI understands a lot of the franchises have already reached out to Pant and have started planning their auction strategy around him. Punjab Kings, with a remaining purse of Rs 110 cr and former Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting in the ranks, will pose the biggest competition for other franchises on auction day. Chennai Super Kings, looking to carry out a transition from MS Dhoni, will also be tempted along with Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
BREAKING & LIVE : #IPL 2025 Final Retentions @ 5.30pm
It has been an emotional week for Pant and Capitals after he had communicated his wish to move on to management in the second week of Oct. The Capitals management tried to reach common ground with Pant till the last hour before submitting their retentions to BCCI on Oct 31. TOI understands that Pant was offered top retention and was definitely in the process of building a team for next season. However, things changed once the two owners – GMR group and JSW group – decided to split responsibilities and operations of the team on a two-year rotation basis earlier this month.
Pant has had multiple meetings with the owners from Aug. Discussions around planning for the next season had been initiated. But once the business agreement was made between the two co-owners, there were certain differences in opinions. Pant has been the most prolific batter in the history of the franchise.
“Pant has had a cordial relationship with both owners. But it was getting difficult to have a common vision and direction where the team was headed. To get so many people on the same page at so many levels was something he was unsure of,” a source close to the development told TOI.
“It was a very emotional moment for all the stakeholders. Pant has been an integral part of the franchise since he was first bought in 2016. The owners and Pant didn’t want this relationship to end easily. So, they kept trying till the end. But Pant decided that he would rather leave on good terms and be a bone of contention,” the source said.
The GMR group, which is in charge of operations for the next two seasons, decided to rope in Hemang Badani as head coach and Venugopal Rao as director of cricket. It is learnt that Pant was not kept in the loop during the appointment process. “The GMR group was the sole owner of the team when Pant was bought in 2016. They share a very fond relationship with Pant. But Pant expected a greater role in the franchise which was agreed upon in Aug. But somehow that wasn’t translating into anything,” the source added.
Who next after Pant: Iyer or Axar?
While Axar Patel seems to be the obvious top retention followed by Kuldeep Yadav, the franchise will be looking for an established name to succeed Pant as the captain.
Delhi Capitals had generated highest ever revenue once Pant made his comeback after injury in the 2024 season. The stadium was packed for every game. It will be tough for the franchise to garner such a fanbase without Pant.
TOI has learnt that Capitals management has interest in getting Shreyas Iyer as it is likely that the IPL-winning captain won’t be retained by Kolkata Knight Riders. It is also learnt that Iyer wasn’t happy that KKR refused to give him top retention. “The GMR group has already had conversations with Iyer. This franchise, when it was known as Delhi Daredevils, had given Iyer his first contract. Iyer was the captain when Capitals made the IPL final in 2020 before parting ways in 2022 as the franchise appointed Pant as the captain in 2021 when Iyer was out injured,” the source said.
