Rishabh Pant Delhi Capitals. Photo- IPL
Rishabh Pant Delhi Capitals. Photo- IPL

Rishabh Pant has been confirmed as the first retention by Delhi Capitals (DC) co-owner Parth Jindal ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Rishabh Pant recently made his cricketing return in IPL 2024, captaining DC after being out for more than a year due to his car accident.

Pant performed extremely well, scoring over 400 runs and keeping wickets in all 14 games, showcasing his fitness. This led to Pant making his India comeback in the T20 World Cup 2024, which he went on to win with the Men in Blue.

The Delhi Capitals management will have to be back to banging their heads after BCCI and IPL GC announced the player retention rules ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

As per the retention rules, laid out by the BCCI and IPL GC: “The first retention will cost Rs 18 crore followed by second retention of Rs 14 crore and third retention of Rs 11 crore. However, if a franchise opts for fourth and fifth retention, they will again have to pay Rs 18 crore and Rs 14 crore respectively.”

Notably uncapped players can be retained for INR 4 Cr and this includes all Indian players who have not played international cricket for the last 5 years. Each franchise can retain a maximum 6 players including one uncapped mandatory and also have RTM cards.

Rishabh Pant will be retained for sure: Parth Jindal speak on other possible retentions by DC

The Delhi Capitals roster includes Rishabh Pant, David Warner, Tristan Stubbs, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and others. Retaining six of them will be a major challenge for team management, as they will want to keep the best six of the lot.

Parth Jindal, Delhi Capitals’ co-owner, stated that the team has strong players on its roster. He stated that they needed to consult with the GMR Group, which includes another co-owner, Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly. However, Jindal announced Rishabh Pant as DC’s first retainer.

“Yes, we have to retain. We have some very good players in our team. The rules have just come out, so after discussing with GMR and our director of cricket, Sourav Ganguly, decisions will be made. Rishabh Pant will definitely be retained,” Jindal was quoted as saying by IANS.

Parth Jindal went on to discuss the likely Delhi Capitals pick. He identified Axar Patel, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Tristan Stubbs, Kuldeep Yadav, Abishek Porel, Mukesh Kumar, and Khaleel Ahmed as possible retentions. He also stated that they would be discussing soon.

He said: “We also have Axar Patel, who is excellent, Tristan Stubbs, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Kuldeep Yadav, Abishek Porel, Mukesh Kumar, and Khaleel Ahmed, all very good players in our team. We’ll see what happens in the auction. But first, as per the rule, we can retain six players. After discussions, we will proceed with the auction and see what happens…”

Delhi Capitals remain one of the three original IPL teams to have never won the IPL title. Their best finish has been reaching the finals of the IPL 2020, where they were defeated by Mumbai Indians in UAE.

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