Rishabh Pant's nine-year connection with Delhi Capitals (DC) came to an end, as the 2020 IPL finalists instead decide to make Axar Patel their most expensive retention. Kuldeep Yadav will also stay at DC for IPL 2025. DC had yet another mediocre outing in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Playing under the captaincy of Rishabh Pant, DC finished at sixth place with seven wins out of 14 matches. For the upcoming mega auctions, DC have parted ways with their skipper and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. Pant will now be going under the hammer in the upcoming auctions, which will take place in November.
After a long saga, it was officially announced that Pant would not stay on at Delhi Capitals, making him arguably the most sought-after player at the IPL 2025 mega auction.
DC managed to retain Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as their two highest retentions. The spin duo have played a key role for the franchise in recent years. South African batter Tristan Stubbs has been retained as well, following an impressive IPL 2024.
Wicket-keeper batter Abishek Porel stays on as an uncapped selection.
Explosive promising Australian opener Jake Fraser-McGurk has not been retained by the franchise. The 22-year-old smashed 330 runs in just nine innings in IPL 2024. His strike rate of 234.04 was the best among any batter in IPL 2024 with more than 100 runs.
Following the departure of Ricky Ponting as head coach, GMR Group appointed Hemang Badani as the head coach of the franchise, with Venugopal Rao as assistant.
David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Harry Brook, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar and Anrich Nortje are some of the big names not kept on by DC.
PLAYERS RETAINED:
1. Axar Patel (Rs 16.5 cr)
2. Kuldeep Yadav (Rs 13.25 cr)
3. Tristan Stubbs (Rs 10 cr)
4. Abishek Porel (Rs 4 cr - uncapped)
AUCTION BUDGET:Rs 73 cr
RTMs available:2
Players released:Rishabh Pant, Pravin Dubey, David Warner, Vicky Ostwal, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Harry Brook, Lungi Ngidi, Lalit Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Mitchell Marsh, Ishant Sharma, Yash Dhull, Mukesh Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kumar Kushagra, Gulbadin Naib, Lizaad Williams.