Rishabh Pant and AB de Villiers. Photo- Twitter
Rishabh Pant and AB de Villiers. Photo- Twitter

As per AB de Villiers, Rishabh Pant would be too expensive for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to pursue in the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. The IPL 2025 auction, a two-day event, is set to be hosted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25.

Rishabh Pant was recently released by the Delhi Capitals, and the 27-year-old is anticipated to face a bidding battle during the blockbuster auction. De Villiers believes Rishabh Pant would be selected by the Punjab Kings because he gets along well with head coach Ricky Ponting.

Ricky Ponting was the Delhi Capitals’ coach until the last season when he departed the organization to be hired by the Punjab Kings. Pant was also not retained by the franchise, and it remains to be seen whether Delhi would exercise the right-to-match (RTM) option in the big auction.

Rishabh Pant is too expensive for RCB- AB de Villiers predicts the next destination for keeper-batter

In a startling forecast, De Villiers stated that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be unable to obtain Rishabh Pant in the 2018 IPL mega auction. With all franchises gearing up for a heated bidding war, he believes Pant’s star power and worth will surge beyond RCB’s reach.

De Villiers believes the Punjab Kings (PBKS) are the frontrunners to sign Pant, citing the wicketkeeper-batter’s close relationship with the new coach. However, the Proteas great does not eliminate the possibility of seeing Pant in RCB’s red and black but reiterates that the Indian wicketkeeper will be too pricey to purchase at the auction.

AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel, “I hear you. I think it is incredibly unlikely that RCB will get hold of Rishabh Pant; I think he will be too expensive, and all the franchises are going to go for him in the auction. I do feel the Punjab Kings spend whatever they can to get him; that’s my personal feeling.

It’s my gut feeling; I feel there is a very tight connection between him and Ricky Ponting. I think we are going to see him at Punjab Kings. We’ll see what happens; if not, it would be great if RCB can have Rishabh, but I just think he is going to be too expensive.”

‘KL Rahul can take over from Virat Kohli’- AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers may have made his feelings about Rishabh Pant obvious, but he also believes that RCB should consider bidding for KL Rahul in the auction, given that he can take over for Virat Kohli if the latter decides to retire.

“KL is a quality player, he might be a bit cheaper. Definitely not a bad pick, I love him to bits. The way he plays and I think he is due to come back into form. The classy players like him find a way to come back into form. KL Rahul can also take over from Virat, he is not that old yet. But focus on bowling department, world-class spinner and local batters,” said De Villiers.

RCB retained just three players — Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal. This gives RCB three RTM cards to use in the IPL 2025 mega auction.

For the forthcoming IPL super auction, 1,574 players have joined up. The list consists of 320 capped players, 1,224 uncapped players, and 30 players from Associate Nations.

With each franchise limited to a maximum squad of 25 players, 204 slots will be available at the auction, which will take place later this month in Saudi Arabia.

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