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India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant on Tuesday broke silence on his exit from Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega-auction, and said that it was not about money.
The Delhi-based franchise retained all-rounder Axar Patel, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, and right-hand batters Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel ahead of IPL 2025's mega auction. In 111 matches for DC, Pant scored 3,284 runs at an average of 148.93, with a century and 17 fifties to his name. His best score is 128*. He is the franchise's leading run-getter. Under his captaincy, DC reached playoffs in 2021, but could not progress beyond league stages in 2022 and 2024. In the last season, Pant scored 446 runs in 13 matches for the franchise in his comeback season at an average of over 40 and a strike rate of above 155. He scored three half-centuries and had the best score of 88*. While he was the top run-getter for the franchise that season, it could not help them reach playoffs as they missed out on the final four spots with seven wins and losses each, giving them 14 points to finish at the sixth spot. In response to an X video featuring Sunil Gavaskar's comments, Pant himself replied, and wrote, "My retention wasn't about the money for sure that I can say." https://x.com/RishabhPant17/status/1858745953756303689 Earlier, speaking exclusively on Star Sports, Gavaskar said that maybe there was some "disagreement over there" between the Delhi-based franchise and Pant for which the player was not retained. "The auction dynamics are completely different, so we don't know how it will go. But what I feel is that Delhi would certainly want Rishabh Pant back in their squad. Sometimes, you know, when the player is to be retained, there is a talk between the franchise and the player about the fees that are expected. As you can see, some of the players who have been retained by their franchise, they have gone for more than, say, what the number one retention fee deduction would be. So, clearly, I think maybe there was some disagreement over there. But my feeling is that Delhi definitely would want Rishabh Pant back because they need a captain as well. Delhi would be, if Rishabh Pant is not in their squad, then they have to look for a new captain as well. So, my feeling is Delhi will definitely go for Rishabh Pant," Gavaskar was quoted in a release from Star Sports as saying. In the last season of the T20 tournament, the Delhi-based franchise narrowly missed the playoffs based on net run rate, with seven wins, seven losses, and a total of 14 points. (ANI)
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