New Delhi: Rishabh Pant’s recent cryptic tweet regarding the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction has reportedly left his franchise Delhi Capitals (DC) puzzled. Pant, who leads DC in the league, is considered to be a sure shot retention for the franchise, however, his latest X (formerly Twitter) activity has stumped the owners.
Pant has taken to X on October 12 and wrote “If I go to the auction, will I be sold or not and for how much ??”. His tweet went viral instantly and sparked speculations regarding his future with the Delhi Capitals. While some fans brushed the tweet aside calling it an advertisement gimmick, the others took it more seriously.
As per a report in Cricbuzz, even the Delhi Capitals owners have little idea of Pant’s motive behind the tweet and what the Team India wicket-keeper batter has in his mind. The tweet came days after Pant met with Delhi Capitals co-owner, Kiran Kumar Grandhi in Dubai earlier this month where his retention and the team’s future plans were discussed in detail.
As per Cricbuzz, there was some agreement on his retention during the player’s meeting with the team’s co-owner and he was also made aware of the team’s plans about the new support staff after the sacking of former head coach Ricky Ponting and their potential strategy in the auction. Before he met with Gandhi, Pant had also met DC co-owner Parth Jindal last month. Jindal had stated publicly that Pant would definitely be retained by the franchise post the meeting.
However, Pant’s latest tweet has left the DC owners perplexed, raising concerns regarding his future with the franchise. “We’ve seen it, and we’re not sure why he did it (the post on X),” a source close to DC owners was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
Pant joined Delhi Capitals in 2016 and has since been a vital cog in their line-up. He replaced an injured Shreyas Iyer as the captain of the franchise ahead of IPL 2021 and was subsequently retained as the captain as the franchise released Iyer ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. Pant has since lead DC in three seasons but has failed to inspire them to the playoffs.
However, he has been one of their best performers with the bat having amassed 3284 runs in 111 matches at an average of just over 35 and a strike rate of 148.93, including 18 fifties and a solitary century.
Can Delhi Capitals release Rishabh Pant?
It will be too early to say if Pant’s cryptic tweet can sour his relations with the franchise. However, the wicket-keeper batter’s social media activity has certainly raised alarm bells in the franchise. Delhi Capitals are likely to retain Pant as he is their captain and one of the best performers but nothing can be ruled out ahead of a mega auction.
Pant was earlier linked with a potential move to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and was deemed a successor to MS Dhoni for the five-time champions. If he is indeed released by DC, a lot of teams will be involved in a bidding war at the IPL 2025 mega auction to secure the services of the Team India star.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) owners are reportedly puzzled by Rishabh Pant’s recent tweet regarding the IPL 2025 mega auction. Pant had asked his followers whether he should consider going into the auction and how much money will he fetch if he decided to do so. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
