Ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025 Retentions, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh said that Delhi Capitals should retain Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs and Jake Fraser-McGurk. Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has urged Delhi Capitals to retain Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025. Harbhajan Singh also named four other players whom Delhi Capitals should retain in the squad.
Earlier in the month, former Indian cricketers Hemang Badani and Venugopal Rao joined the coaching staff of Delhi Capitals as head coach and director of cricket, respectively, ahead of the next season of the IPL. Meanwhile, cricketing icon and one of India’s most successful captains, Sourav Ganguly has been named as Director of Cricket for JSW Sports.
Notably, BCCI has set a deadline of October 31 for retention lists. Every franchise is allowed to retain a total of 6 six players. They can retain six players ahead of the tournament through direct retentions or Right to Match (RTM) cards. Out of the six retained players, each franchise can pick a maximum of 5 capped players and 2 uncapped players. As the deadline nears, all the franchisees are focused on finalizing deals with their players.
Delhi Capitals performance in IPL over recent years
In 2020, Delhi Capitals reached their first-ever final. However, in the last season, they narrowly missed the playoffs based on net run rate, with seven wins, seven losses, and a total of 14 points. Delhi Capitals failed to qualify for playing in the last season. The franchise won 7 games and lost 7 games out of 14. With 14 points, they captured the 6th spot in the points table. They last qualified for the playoffs in the 2021 season but could not reach the final. Pant has led the team since the 2021 season.
In the 2024 season of the IPL, Rishabh Pant played 13 matches and scored 446 runs at a strike rate of 155.40. Shockingly, Rishabh Pant faced a severe road accident in December 2022 which forced him out of the field for almost 14 months. Later, he made a comeback in IPL 2024 directly as DC skipper.
The left-handed batsman made a stunning comeback in the season, hitting 446 runs in 13 games at an average of 40+. With a strike rate of 155+, he also slammed 3 half-centuries in the season.
Star India all-rounder Axar Patel appeared in 14 matches in IPL 2024 and scored 235 runs at a strike rate of 131.28. He also picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 24.00.
Tristan Stubbs also played in 14 matches in IPL 2024 and scored 378 runs at a strike rate of 190.91. Jake Fraser-McGurk made his debut in the IPL in 2024 season and played 9 matches, in which he scored 330 runs at a strike rate of 234.04.
Speaking with Star Sports, Harbhajan Singh named five players who should be retained by the Delhi-based franchise. The former India cricketer also named Mitchell Marsh who should be retained for the upcoming season of the T20 tournament.
Harbhajan Singh suggests IPL 2025 retention strategy for Delhi Capitals
Amid some drama over Rishabh Pant’s future with the Delhi Capitals (DC) franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh reckons that DC should retain their keeper-batter and captain. He further opined that Delhi might not retain any uncapped players.
Earlier this month, Pant shared a cryptic post on his social media handle, asking fans how much he would be sold if he went to the auction. The post led to speculations over whether the star cricketer’s association with the Delhi franchise might be coming to an end.
While there have been no confirmations over the rumor, Harbhajan Singh believes that DC should retain the dynamic cricketer. Speaking in a Star Sports video, he said:
“About Delhi Capitals, we have heard a lot of things around whether Rishabh Pant will be retained or not. Only time will tell. But if I were a part of the management, I would definitely retain him.”
The 44-year-old picked Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Mitchell Marsh as his other four retention choices for DC for the IPL 2025 season.
“Pant should be the first retention, followed by Axar Patel, then Tristan Stubbs. The fourth retention, as I see it, should be Jake Fraser-McGurk; and if you want to retain a fifth player, it could be Mitchell Marsh,” the former India cricketer added.
Pant made a comeback to competitive cricket during IPL 2024. He made an impressive return, hammering 446 runs in 13 matches at an average of 40.55 and a strike rate of 155.40, with three half-centuries. DC, though, failed to make the playoffs, finishing sixth in the points table with seven wins and as many losses.
Harbhajan Singh on Delhi Capitals’ uncapped retention
While Harbhajan picked five players when it came to Delhi Capitals’ capped retentions, he opined that the franchise might not go in for an uncapped retention ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. The former cricketer commented:
“I don’t find any other player they would want to retain. So I think Delhi Capitals should retain 4-5 players and pick the remaining squad from the (auction) pool.”
An uncapped retention ahead of the auction will cost a franchise ₹4 crore. Meanwhile, October 31 has been set as the deadline for all 10 IPL franchises to confirm their retention list for the 2025 season.