Delhi Capitals (DC) fans would be amazed why didn’t the franchise retain nor try their best to buy Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025 Mega Auction. Rishabh Pant’s free strokeplay batting has always been a treat for the fans in IPL. Rishabh Pant was also seen in a previous auction with DC in the auction table.
Delhi Capitals failed to retain Rishabh Pant after the two parties didn’t agree on terms. The keeper-batter later clarified that it wasn’t about money but didn’t reveal much detail about his partition with DC. In the IPL 2025 mega-auction, Lucknow Super Giants signed the India international for a staggering INR 27 crore – with that, Rishabh Pant became the costliest player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Rishabh Pant creates history by becoming the most expensive player in IPL
Not long ago, on Day 1 of the IPL auction, Rishabh Pant made history by becoming the most expensive player in IPL history, with the Lucknow franchise securing him for a staggering Rs 27 crore. He surpassed compatriot Shreyas Iyer, who had just set the record as the most expensive player in the league, going to Punjab Kings for Rs 26.75 crore just minutes earlier. Before the mega auction, there was speculation about a possible rift between the Indian star wicketkeeper-batter and the Delhi Capitals management.
This speculation gained further traction when DC released him ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. However, in a surprising turn of events at the auction table, Delhi Capitals attempted to use the ‘Right To Match’ card, but they couldn’t match the bid that Lucknow Super Giants placed for Rishabh Pant, showed how much they still value the southpaw.
LSG and Sunrisers Hyderabad were in contention before the prior bid of INR 20.75 crore. The Capitals decided to use their Right to Match (RTM) card, but Lucknow increased their bid to INR 27 crore, which Delhi couldn’t match. Rishabh Pant went on to join the Super Giants and is very likely to be named the new captain of the franchise.
All the rumors of a rift and possible sidelining have now been put to rest, as Parth Jindal expresses his views on Rishabh Pant, emphasizing how much Delhi Capitals will miss his services in IPL 2025.
Delhi owner Parth Jindal gets emotional after parting ways with Rishabh Pant for IPL 2025
Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal has shed light on their decision to not use the Right-To-Match option for Rishabh Pant in the IPL 2025 auction. Jindal reasoned that he would have ruined the auction for his franchise had he deployed it.
The keeper-batter was one of the hottest properties in the auction and attracted bids from multiple franchises. The 27-year-old eventually became the most expensive player in the IPL auction history, fetching ₹27 crore from the Lucknow Super Giants, surpassing Shreyas Iyer, who went for ₹26.75 to the Punjab Kings in the same event.
Speaking to Rev Sportz, Jindal said he was quite satisfied with how the auction went for the Capitals but was sad about losing Pant. He said (via NDTV):
“After Dada, my favorite cricketer has been Rishabh Pant. In my heart, I am really emotional and sad; I lost my favorite cricketer. He will continue to remain my favorite but very happy with the auction. We lost Rishabh the minute we did not retain him. Let us not try and kid ourselves that we were ever going to get him back in the auction.
If I did use Right to Match (RTM) at that price, I would have ruined the auction for Delhi Capitals (DC). Rishabh Pant at 18 crore and at 27 crore he is a completely different proposition.”
The southpaw returned to the highest level of cricket after a lengthy absence during IPL 2024. Although his captaincy could not lift the Capitals to the playoffs, he finished with 446 runs in 13 matches at 40.54 alongside a strike rate of 155.40.
Parth Jindal reveals conversation with Rishabh Pant on his performance
Jindal also disclosed that it was a collective decision to release Pant, but suggested that the wicketkeeper-batter did not take their feedback constructively. He explained:
“I don’t think it is about ownership here. We were very aligned as an ownership group. It was a very collective decision that was taken. We had lot of discussions with Rishabh. There were things we expected of Rishabh that we did not get last season or in previous seasons. We gave him honest feedback on that,”
“We both, JSW and GMR, Kiran (Grandhi) and I, we are one family, we are united. It was a decision that we took. We gave him feedback. The feedback was not taken as we expected it to be taken. He took an emotional call. He has also grown up in this franchise.”
The left-hander Rishabh Pant could become the captain of the Super Giants in IPL 2025. Notably, Pant played 111 matches for Delhi and scored 3284 runs at a strike rate of 148.93. He led the franchise for four years, but the franchise hasn’t been successful during this time.