NEW DELHI: Rishabh Pant will turn out in new colours from IPL 2025 as the wicketkeeper-batter doesn’t feature in Delhi Capitals‘ list of retained players. The franchise has decided to retain Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristian Stubbs and Abhishek Porel, and have also kept the option of Right To Match (RTM) card open for the mega auction.
As TOI.com had reported earlier this month, DC were open to retaining Pant but not as their captain and the youngster wanted to continue leading an IPL franchise. Both Pant and the DC leadership had numerous discussions on the way forward but the final decision is understood to have been made today.
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“Rishabh Pant wanted captaincy, wanted to be involved with regards to appointment of coaches and support staff but plenty in the DC set-up are not convinced about his T20 game. It wasn’t that they wanted to let him go but they were clear that they didn’t see him leading the side. And that decision wasn’t an overnight one,” says a source close to developments.
This marks the end of Pant’s long association with the Delhi Capitals. He joined the side as a youngster back in 2016 and went on to become their captain before the start of the 2021 edition.
Who will lead DC?
With Pant gone, the million dollar question now is who would lead DC from the 2025 edition. There is an option of Axar Patel but it is understood that the franchise would explore options at the mega-auction and don’t be surprised if they go aggressively for Shreyas Iyer.
“Axar Patel is there as an option but there is a strong possibility of DC exploring options at the mega auction. Plenty of captaincy options are set to enter the mega auction so wait and watch is going to be the right way forward for DC. Shreyas Iyer will definitely be on their radar as he enjoyed a lot of success in the DC set-up and understands the set-up well. A very exciting set of players have been retained and a solid squad can be built around these names,” adds the source.