It is understood that Pant's relationship dynamic with one of the co-owners isn't exactly the best.
A lot has been spoken about the decision of Delhi Capitals (DC) not to retain Rishabh Pant ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) auction. While there were speculations that the franchise might use a Right to Match (RTM) card to bring back the wicketkeeper-batter at the mega auction in Jeddah, recent developments suggest that the DC management is looking to go the other way.
A Khelnow report suggests that Pant and the franchise owners – two of them – couldn’t come to a mutual agreement and hence parted ways. Moreover, Pant’s relationship dynamic with one of the co-owners isn’t exactly the best.
A source privy to the developments revealed, “Delhi Capitals will not be using the RTM card on Rishabh Pant in the mega auction due to his relationship with one of the co-owners not being in the best shape.”
After retaining four players – Axar Patel (INR 16.50 crores), Kuldeep Yadav (INR 13.25 crores), Tristan Stubbs (INR 10 crores), Abishek Porel (INR 4 crores), DC has two remaining RTM cards for the mega auction.
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It is now understood that IPL 2020 runners-up will be going hard after former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer in the IPL 2025 auction. Making Iyer more lucrative will be his recent stint where the batting superstar led KKR to their third IPL title last season.
The report further suggests that Delhi’s co-owners, the GMR Group, were the key drivers in the decision to release Pant and are adamant on roping back Iyer as a captain.
“Delhi Capitals’ co-owners the GMR Group, who are managing the team on a two-year rotational basis now, will bid aggressively for Shreyas Iyer at the mega auction due to their strong relationship with the player,” the source added.
To put things into perspective, DC is co-owned by the GMR Group, led by Kiran Kumar Grandhi and JSW Sports, headed by Parth Jindal. The two organizations alternate operational responsibilities for their IPL and WPL teams on a two-year rotation. During the 2025-2026 cycle, the GMR Group will manage the men’s IPL team, while JSW Sports will oversee the women’s WPL team.
Notably, the GMR Group shares a strong rapport with Iyer, whereas JSW Sports has shown a preference for Pant. Under GMR’s management, Iyer captained the Delhi Capitals to their first IPL final in 2020, where they were defeated by the Mumbai Indians.
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