New Delhi: Delhi Capitals (DC) co-owner Parth Jindal recently revealed the inside story of Rishabh Pant’s high-profile departure from the franchise. Jindal revealed what exactly unfolded behind the scenes which led to Pant getting released from the Delhi Capitals and joining Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction.
Pant was shockingly released by Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2025 retention deadline and entered the auction. While DC did try to get him back at the auction which concluded on Sunday, the India wicket-keeper batter was nearly unattainable after Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bid a whopping Rs 27 crore to make him the most expensive player of all time in IPL history.
Delhi Capitals used the RTM on Pant after LSG won the initial bidding war at Rs 20.75 crore. However, LSG then raised their bid to Rs 27 crore, making Pant their top signing at the auction. While Jindal refused to divulge the details of what transpired between DC and Pant before his release, he said Pant decided to leave the franchise as he wanted to head in a new direction.
“What transpired is something that I don’t want to get into. It was a very long discussion we had. At the end, Rishabh himself decided ‘I don’t want to stay’. We made, both Kiran and I, all efforts to keep him. But he decided he wanted to go out, go in a different direction. We respected it,” Parth Jindal told RevSportz.
Jindal further revealed after the breakdown of negotiations between DC and Pant, he had promised the Indian wicket-keeper batter that he would not try to bid for him at the IPL 2025 mega auction. However, Jindal insisted his ‘heart took over’ as they joined the race to get Pant back and nearly did before LSG took the player.
Jindal refuted the claims that Delhi Capitals’ co-owners GMR Group were not on the same page as far as Pant’s departure was concerned and that both co-owners tried their best to get him back at the IPL 2025 mega auction.
“At that time, I also respected it. I said ‘Rishabh, I won’t go for you in the auction’. But then my heart took over in the auction and I tried getting him back. Kiran is like we will make up later, both of us will make with him later if we get him. We tried, but then the price became too high. It’s nothing to do with ownership. It was a joint decision,” he added.
Rishabh Pant didn’t take feedback the way we expected: Parth Jindal
Jindal went on to further reveal how Pant took an emotional decision to leave the franchise after some honest feedback from the owners didn’t go down well with the wicket-keeper batter. There were reports that Pant wanted to continue as captain having led the franchise for three seasons from IPL 2021 to 2024, however, the DC management wanted him to continue only as a player.
There were also reports stating that Jindal-owned JSW Group was in favour of keeping Pant but Kiran Gandhi of the GMR Group, the other co-owner of the franchise wanted a change in leadership. However, Jindal refuted the rumours and said both set of owners were on the same page and they gave honest feedback to Pant on the team’s performances.
“No, I don’t think it’s about ownership here. We were very aligned as an ownership group. It was a very collective decision that was taken. We had a lot of discussion with Rishabh and there were things that we expected of Rishabh, and we did not get them in the last season or the previous season. We gave him honest feedback on that,” said Jindal.
“We gave him feedback. The feedback was not taken as we expected it to be taken. And yeah, it’s okay. He took an emotional call. He has also grown up in this franchise. He was a young boy when he started. Delhi Daredevils gave him the opportunity. Kiran gave him his first opportunity. I came into the franchise later and developed a very strong bond with him,” he added.
Pant made his debut for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2016 and went on to become a fan favourite at the franchise after growing in stature one season after another. His performances with DC also earned him his India debut in 2017. Pant has since gone on to establish his credentials as one of the best wicket-keeper batters in the world and is also a strong contender to lead India in Tests in the future.
Pant has so far played 111 matches in his IPL career and has amassed 3284 runs at an average of over 35 and a strike rate of 148.93, including 18 fifties and a solitary century. While his IPL numbers are not stellar, Pant was always expected to be in demand at the auction considering his explosive batting skills and his captaincy experience.
Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal revealed the inside story of Rishabh Pant’s exit from Delhi Capitals and revealed both JSW and GMR, who co-own the franchise were on same page regarding the Team India wicket-keeper batter. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
