Teams That Could Target Rishabh Pant | IPL 2025 Mega Auction

It is now confirmed that Delhi Capitals (DC) has not retained Rishabh Pant before the IPL 2025 mega auction. Delhi Capitals has released their former captain Rishabh Pant. The left-handed wicketkeeper batter started his career with DC in 2016 and since then, he has been retained by the franchise every time before this one. Now, it looks unlikely that DC will use the RTM (Right to Match) card for Rishabh Pant and bring him back into the team. It means he will feature in the IPL 2025 mega auction and so many teams might go after him in the event that will happen in Jeddah.

Today, we will talk about the three teams that could target Rishabh Pant in the IPL 2025 mega auction. So let’s start.

Three teams that could target Rishabh Pant in the IPL 2025 mega auction

(1) Punjab Kings (PBKS)

There are a few reasons why PBKS must target Pant in the auction. First of all, they are looking for a captain who can lead the team at least till the next mega auction cycle. After Shikhar Dhawan, they are looking for a solid replacement and they have tried Sam Curran for a temporary period of time.

Rishabh Pant has enough experience of captaining an IPL franchise and he could be the next PBKS captain. Also, he has a very good bond with the newly appointed PBKS coach Ricky Ponting. He has worked with the Aussie legend in DC. So there is a possibility that there will be a reunion of Pant and Ponting for IPL 2025.

Pant’s batting ability is there to see for anyone. Maybe he has underachieved in T20Is, but he has done well in T20 cricket in the IPL (Indian Premier League). He can turn the game on his head with the bat on a given day.

PBKS has the biggest purse in the IPL 2025 mega auction

PBKS will go with the highest amount of purse in the IPL 2025 auction. They have only retained two uncapped players (Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh) and spent only INR 9.4 CR. They still have INR 110.5 CR in the bank. So they will fancy their chances of signing Rishabh Pant as the Indian wicketkeeper batter might go well in the auction in terms of amount.

(2) Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

There were a lot of speculations going on in the media that Pant will go to CSK. The fans were looking at him as the successor of MS Dhoni, having a similar role of a wicketkeeper batter and a leader. But, CSK has announced their retention list and they have Ruturaj Gaikwad already. So they might continue with Ruturaj as their captain. But, Pant can go to CSK as a player and someone in whom CSK can invest in the long run.

MS Dhoni is ideal for Rishabh Pant and he can be a good replacement after the former decides to retire from the IPL. The only problem CSK will face is the purse remaining. CSK has retained five players (Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, M Pathirana, Shivam Dube, and MS Dhoni) and already spent INR 65 CR.

The franchise will go with an INR 55 CR purse in the auction. We can expect an amount of INR 25-30 CR for Pant and if the CSK goes full throttle for him, they will be left with a little less amount to buy other players. So they will have to strategize well if they want to sign Pant.

(3) Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

Just like PBKS, RCB is also looking for a new captain. They have released Faf du Plessis and are unlikely to go for him as a captain.

There are media reports which suggest that Virat Kohli will be back as RCB captain. But, there is no official confirmation of that. If Virat won’t lead the franchise, Rishabh Pant could be a great option for them to lead for a longer run.

Pant can be a destructive middle-order batter, with a wicketkeeping and leadership option. And he will have the support of Virat in the leadership group as well.

RCB also has a big purse

After PBKS, RCB has the biggest purse in the IPL 2025 mega auction. They have INR 83 CR in the purse and they will be eying Pant for the IPL 2025. Even if they kept a separate budget for Pant, they would have enough amount to build a minimum squad.

Conclusion

So these are the three teams that we have picked as the potential teams who could target Pant in the IPL 2025 auction. Every team wants a player like Pant in the mix. Some other teams might also go for him but will have to look after their purse as we can expect a huge signing as far as Pant is concerned.

Let’s see who will be those franchises who will go for Pant in the IPL 2025 mega auction. What do you think? Where will Pant go in the IPL 2025? And where do you want to see him in the next IPL season and why?

FAQs:-

(1) How many runs Rishabh Pant has scored in the IPL?

The left-handed wicketkeeper batter has played 111 games in the IPL and scored 3284 runs with an average of 35.31 and a strike rate of 148.93. He has 18 fifties and a hundred to his name, with the highest score of 128*.

(2) Which year was Pant’s best IPL year in terms of runs?

In terms of most runs in the IPL season, 2018 was when he scored the most runs. In 2018, he scored 684 runs with an average of 52.61 and a strike rate of 173.60. He has scored 5 fifties and a hundred in that season.

(3) Has DC reached the playoffs in the captaincy of Pant?

Pant has captained DC in three seasons (IPL 2021, 2022, and 2024). In those three seasons, DC reached the playoffs once, in 2021, finishing at the top of the points table. In the points table, DC finished at No. 5 (2022) and No. 6 (2024) in the other two seasons.