Former Delhi Capitals skipper and Indian wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant has addressed not being retained by Delhi Capitals, stating that the decision was not about the money. Notably, DC had let go of their 25-year-old player after he played for the franchise for 8 years, leading them in 3 of those seasons.
However, Pant’s non-retention felt surprising, to say the least, given that the team did retain four players in the form of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Porel, and Tristan Stubbs. Neither DC nor Pant had clarified the decision to part ways yet, but we finally have some clarity now.
In reply to a post by Star Sports post where former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar talked about Rishabh Pant making a comeback for Delhi Capitals during the mega auctions, Pant wrote, “My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say,”.
While being cryptic in nature, the reply does more or less clears that Pant will not be returning to Delhi Capitals during the mega auctions.
“What I feel is Delhi Capitals would want Rishabh Pant back in their squad. Sometimes, when a player has to be retained, there are talks between the franchise and players over the fees, as expected. As some of the players who have been retained by their franchises, they have gone for more than what the No. 1 retention fee deduction would be. So clearly, I think there may be some disagreement there. But, my feeling is Delhi would want Rishabh Pant back,” Gavaskar had said in the video.
Why was Rishabh Pant let go by Delhi Capitals?
A complicated management structure at the Delhi Capitals ultimately led to the ouster of Rishabh Pant from the franchise, as per a report by news agency PTI. Notably, DC management is controlled by the co-owners for a period of two years and the new management under GMR is reportedly now looking at bringing back Shreyas Iyer as the captain.