Rishabh Pant to be primary target of PBKS and KKR at IPL 2025 mega auction: Exclusive

Rishabh Pant was released by Delhi Capitals before the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Rishabh Pant will be a man in-demand at the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction 2025. Shockingly, the left-handed wicket-keeper batter was released by the Delhi Capitals management. Both the parties – Rishabh Pant and the franchise – couldn’t come to an agreement and chose to end their relationship.

In a recent post made on social media platform X, the ace keeper clarified himself stating, “My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say.” 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 and they have even decided not to use the Right to Match (RTM) card on the Delhi batsman as revealed exclusively by Khel Now.

Moreover, The Kiran Kumar Grandhi-owned GMR outfit have a preference for bringing back Shreyas Iyer as revealed by Khel Now earlier.

Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have identified Pant as a top target

Meanwhile, Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have identified Rishabh Pant as the top target for the upcoming season of the IPL. PBKS have decided to start afresh ahead of this auction. The franchise retained only two uncapped players in Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh for a combined worth of INR 9.5 crores out of the overall budget of INR 120 crores. 

Along with that, PBKS have roped in former DC coach Ricky Ponting as the head coach of the side. Ponting has been an admirer of Rishabh Pant and the Punjab outfit want both to combine again.

For KKR, they have retained the core of their title-winning group, but they need a wicket-keeper, a captain and a top order batsman. Rishabh Pant fits the bill in all three requirements. However, unlike PBKS, KKR do not have a big purse to go all out for Pant. KKR have a remaining budget of INR 51 crores compared to 110.5 crores for PBKS.

A source aware about the latest happenings and wishing to remain anonymous, informed Khel Now and said, “Punjab Kings and KKR will go into the auction with Rishabh Pant as their top target. Punjab want Pant to reunite with (Ricky) Ponting, while KKR are looking at him as someone who can lead the team. He is also someone who can bat in the top order and keep wickets.“

The IPL 2025 mega auction will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 24th and 25th November. The auction will kickoff at 3:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Star Sports and streamed online on Jio Cinema. You can also follow the IPL 2025 mega auction on Khel Now.

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