Reports- Rishabh Pant to part ways with Delhi Capitals, set to enter IPL mega auction (Source: Twitter)
With the deadline for franchises to finalize their retentions and submit their preferences to the Governing Council approaching, there have been widespread discussions in relation to the Delhi Capitals (DC) and whether they would retain their skipper or not. Several articles have been floating in and around the net which possess contrasting viewpoints and justifications.
However, according to a fresh report, it is almost finalized that Rishabh Pant was not on the agenda of the franchise. The source also mentioned that the decision to drop him from their plans was not a straightforward decision. Besides, the same report also stated that the franchise have decided to retain Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, and Abishek Porel as an uncapped player.
“Rishabh Pant wanted captaincy, wanted to be involved with regards to the appointment of coaches and support staff but plenty in the DC set-up are not convinced about his T20 game. It wasn’t that they wanted to let him go but they were clear that they didn’t see him leading the side. And that decision wasn’t an overnight one,” stated the source, as quoted by the Times of India.
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Axar Patel is there as an option: Source
The representative also indicated that with Pant, who had led the side since the 2021 edition out of the franchise’s plans, Axar emerged as one of the options to take over the role of captaincy. It also hinted at Shreyas Iyer being on the lookout for the management and ratified the same with logical reasoning.
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“Axar Patel is there as an option but there is a strong possibility of DC exploring options at the mega auction. Plenty of captaincy options are set to enter the mega auction so wait and watch is going to be the right way forward for DC. Shreyas Iyer will definitely be on their radar as he enjoyed a lot of success in the DC setup and understands the setup well. A very exciting set of players have been retained and a solid squad can be built around these names,” the source added.
If what the report mentions is believed to be true, it will imply that Pant will bid adieu to his first franchise with which he has been a part since 2016, when he made his debut in the cash-rich league.