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According to DC’s head coach Hemang Badani, Pant wanted to be part of the IPL 2025 mega auction as he was keen to test the market.
Rishabh Pant was not retained by DC ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction. (Picture Credit: Sportzpics)
Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was part of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL from 2016 to 2024. He led the franchise in the 2024 edition of the cash-rich league and also finished as the leading run scorer, but despite that, he was not retained by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Delhi’s decision to not retain Pant came as a surprise to many fans and experts of the game, but in a recent interview, DC’s new head coach, Hemang Badani, has revealed the reason why Pant was released by the 2020 IPL losing finalists ahead of the mega auction.
According to Badani, who replaced Ricky Ponting as the new head coach of the Delhi-based franchise earlier this year, the franchise was keen to retain Pant, but the Indian star wanted to be part of the auction. The former India batter said the 27-year-old wicketkeeper wanted to test the market as he felt he was worth more.
“I think it’s the other way around. He wanted not to be retained. He said he wanted to go in the auction and test the market,” Badani told Subramaniam Badrinath on the latter’s YouTube channel.
“If you want to retain a player, both parties (the team and the player) have to agree on certain things. We tried talking to him; the management tried talking to him. There were a lot of phone calls and messages exchanged,” he added.
“He said he wanted to go to the auction and test the mark. He said he had a feeling that there were chances he would get more money than the highest cap for a retained player, which is ₹18 crore. And, at the end of the day, he felt he was worth more. And the market said the same thing. He got ₹27 crore. Good for him. He is a very good player. We will obviously miss him. But life goes on.”
Pant, who is DC’s most capped player and leading run scorer in IPL history, was signed for Rs 27 crore by the Lucknow Super Giants on Day 1 of the mega auction, which was held in Jeddah on November 24 and 25.
