Naman Garg
Rishabh Pant’s future at the Delhi Capitals has come under fresh doubt
after a mid-night post by the Indian star asking fans what price he
could fetch on the auction table. Pant has been leading the franchise
since 2021 and has been part of their roaster since his debut season
in 2016.
IPL 2025 mega auction is set to be the biggest in the history of the
league, with several big names likely to be up for grabs with all 10
teams eying a radical overhaul of their squads. The likes of KL Rahul,
Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav are among the names that could be
part of the auction, but Rishabh Pant has emailed another surprise
name that could decide to enter the auction pool.
While Delhi Capitals’ owner Parth Jindal has publicly declared that
the franchise will retain Pant, a social media post by the 27-year-old
has cast doubt. Last week, Pant took to X (formerly Twitter) and
stunned cricket fans by asking what his price he could fetch in the
auction. If go to the auction, will he be sold or not and for how much
??. According to a report, Pant’s social media activity has left the
Capitals’ ownership group puzzled. The DC skipper’s post came just
days after he met the franchise co-owner Kiran Kumar Grandhi in Dubai.
The meeting is reported to have taken place after India’s win over
Bangladesh in the Kanpur Test. The same report adds that during the
meeting an agreement was reached between the franchise and the player
on retention as well as the support staff and auction strategy.
However, Pant’s one-line post on the microblogging site has left the
Capitals owner puzzled on Pant’s plans.
“We’ve seen it, and we’re not sure why he did it (the post on X),” a
source close to the DC ownership group was quoted.
It is worth noting that DC has two owners – the GMR Group and Jindal
Group, and both take charge of the operational matters for two years
each. The Grandhi-led GMR group will manage DC in the 2025 and 2026
seasons. A decision on the coaching staff is yet to be taken.
However, Pant’s future will be decided by both groups, as the
agreement between the owners states that retention and auction
strategies are made jointly by both groups. However, the group in
charge has full powers in deciding the new coach.
Earlier this year, DC revealed they have parted ways with Ricky
Ponting, who was their head coach for seven years. Since then, the
Australian cricket legend has been confirmed as Punjab Kings’ new
coach.
