Delhi Capitals to refrain from using RTM card on Rishabh Pant at IPL 2025 mega auction | Exclusive

Rishabh Pant scored 446 runs while leading the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024.

Rishabh Pant had a fairytale comeback to professional cricket this year following his car accident in December 2022.

After Pant suffered major knee injuries in the aftermath of the accident, the cricketer felt he would be lucky to even walk, let alone play cricket. Not only did Pant walk and return to action, but he also did it in quicker time than the deadline set by the doctors.

He made his comeback through the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He returned as Delhi Capitals’ (DC) captain and also donned the wicket-keeping gloves. In 13 outings, he cracked 446 runs at an average of 40 and strike rate of 155 with three fifties.

This paved the way for his return to international cricket in all three formats. He played a couple of important cameos and was excellent behind the stumps during India’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024-winning campaign.

Then, he made his much-awaited comeback to test cricket in the home season against Bangladesh and New Zealand. In five tests, he scored 422 runs at an average of 46 and strike rate of 86, hammering one century and three fifties.

Delhi Capitals release Rishabh Pant, won’t use RTM on him

The 27-year-old Rishabh Pant is entering the peak years of a cricketer. He is a middle-order basher, a wicket-keeper and a long-term captaincy prospect. Therefore, it came as a huge shock to everyone when Delhi Capitals didn’t retain Pant ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

The Capitals retained four players: Axar Patel (INR 16.50 crores), Kuldeep Yadav (INR 13.25 crores), Tristan Stubbs (INR 10 crores), Abishek Porel (INR 4 crores). The absence of Pant in their retention list was a huge surprise to everyone.

The Capitals will have two Right-To-Match (RTM) cards at their disposal at the mega auction.

However, sources in the know have revealed to Khel Now that Delhi Capitals will not be using RTM card on Rishabh Pant at the IPL 2025 mega auction.

“Delhi Capitals will not be using the RTM card on Rishabh Pant in the mega auction due to his relationship with one of the co-owners not being in the best shape,” a source told Khel Now.

It is believed that Pant and the franchise owners – two of them – couldn’t come to a mutual agreement and hence they had to part ways. Therefore, Pant will not be returning to Delhi.

Recently, Pant also made it clear on X that his release had nothing to do with the money offered.

My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say 🤍

— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) November 19, 2024

The Delhi Capitals are jointly-owned by the GMR Group and JSW Sports. Kiran Kumar Grandhi’s GMR Group had bought the franchise in 2008 and in 2018 sold a 50% stake to JSW Sports of Parth Jindal.

The owners have an interesting ownership agreement. They have agreed to a two-year rotational management arrangement for the team’s cricket operations. For the 2025-2026 cycle, the GMR Group will drive the men’s IPL team, while JSW Sports will run the women’s team in the WPL.

It is understood that GMR’s relationship with Pant hasn’t been great recently, while they have a preference for bringing back Shreyas Iyer.

Ahead of IPL 2021, Pant was elevated to the captaincy as Iyer missed the season with a shoulder injury. He led the side to the top of the the points table during the league phase, but they couldn’t reach the finals.

Ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, Delhi had to decide between Pant and Iyer. JSW Sports went with the wicket-keeper as DC’s skipper, which led to Iyer leaving the franchise and going into the auction, where KKR bought him.

Now, with GMR back running the operations for IPL 2025, sources have revealed that they will not use the RTM on Pant.

Pant has played only for Delhi Capitals (previously Delhi Daredevils) in his IPL career since making debut in 2016. In 111 IPL matches, the left-hander has scored 3284 runs at an average of 35 and strike rate of 148, hitting one century and 18 fifties.

He has led Delhi in 43 matches, securing 23 wins and suffering 19 losses.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.