The keeper-batter was released by Delhi Capitals after eight seasons
Soon after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph in June, multiple reports suggested that Delhi Capitals were releasing captain Rishabh Pant.
It came to be true by the time the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 retentions were announced as Delhi went with Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel and Kuldeep Yadav.
Pant had been a DC loyalist since his IPL debut in 2016, featuring for them in 111 matches and scoring 3,284 runs across eight seasons. The franchise had retained the keeper-batter for the 2023 season which he didn’t feature due to a near-fatal accident. Letting go off their captain of three seasons after just one mid-table finish was surprising.
He was eventually bought by the Goenka Group-owned Lucknow Super Giants for a price of INR 27 crore, making him the most expensive player in IPL history.
For Pant, however, there was nervousness about which franchise would buy him in the auction and he opened up about it during LSG’s captaincy announcement.
“I was confused whether I should watch or not. I was watching it with Rohit bhai. I mentally told myself that I wouldn’t watch after INR 15 crore. It was my first IPL Auction experience after a long time, so I hadn’t experienced that a lot. I was excited and nervous, and eventually, LSG won the bid,” Pant revealed on Star Sports.
He also joked that he might go to Punjab Kings as they had the highest purse of INR 110 crore going into the auction.
“From inside, I was only tensed about one thing: Punjab Kings. When Shreyas went to PBKS, it was clear that I was going to LSG. There might be possibilities, and with the auction, you never know. I had my fingers crossed on where I will be going,” Pant said.
Also Read: Shreyas Iyer Reveals Why He Left KKR Ahead of the IPL 2025 Auction
LSG’s owner Sanjiv Goenka said that the team planned their auction around getting Pant for the upcoming season.
“The amount of strategising that was done revolved around Rishabh, it was done keeping him in mind,” Goenka added while confirming Pant as the next LSG skipper.
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