Rishabh Pant is Delhi Capitals’ top retention choice for IPL 2025: Reports

After his scintillating century (109) in the second innings of the first Test between India and Bangladesh in Chennai on September 21, reports emerged in the media that India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will be Delhi Capitals’ first retention choice. 

“Sources within the Delhi Capitals' ownership group have revealed that Pant will be the franchise's top retention choice. This decision was finalised following a recent meeting between Pant and co-owner Parth Jindal in Mumbai,” Cricbuzz wrote. 

“Pant's current IPL salary is INR 16 crore, but this figure is expected to go up based on the total player purse allowed to a franchise and the retention fee guidelines set by the BCCI,” the report further added. 

There have been rumours going on regarding there being a rift between the Capitals ownership and Pant. However, the 26-year-old has been in stellar touch ever since his return to cricket after a horrific car accident in 2022. 

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 was Pant’s first outing since December 2022. He led the side but could not take them to the playoffs. Ricky Ponting, who was the head coach of the franchise, was removed from his position after the end of the season. In that season Pant had scored 446 runs in 13 games with an impressive strike rate of 155.

The Capitals franchise is owned jointly by the GMR and JSW conglomerates, and they jointly take the call on retentions and auctions. However, the team manages the playing seasons alternately for two years. 

So far, the Capitals have not won any title despite making it to the final in 2020 and entering the semi-finals and playoffs on five other occasions. Pant is the franchise's highest run-scorer, with 3,284 runs in his kitty in 111 matches over eight seasons since 2016. 

The date and rules of IPL retention and whether or not it will even be allowed at this time have not yet been cleared by either the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the IPL governing council. 

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