India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is likely to be released by Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the franchise has finalised their retention list ahead of the mega auction next month. The franchise has reportedly decided to retain Axar Patel, Kudeep Yadav, Trustan Stubbs and Abhishek Porel.

According to a report in the Times of India, Pant not only demanded to remain as the captain of the Capitals, but also wanted to be involved in selecting the coaching staff. But Delhi were neither convinced with his T20 game, nor with his captaincy, and hence have reportedly decided against not retaining the T20 World Cup-winning player.

"Rishabh Pant wanted captaincy, wanted to be involved with regards to 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," says a source close to developments told the website.

The decision will hence end Pant's stint at the Delhi franchise, which he had joined back as an uncapped player back in 2016 and was later handed the captaincy duty in 2021. Under him, Delhi won 23 of the 43 matches he led across three seasons (2021, 2022, 2024), and lost 19.

Who will lead Delhi Capitals?

With Pant gone, Delhi will join the list of franchises who will be in hunt for a captaincy option at the auction next month. While Axar could be an option, they also have their eyes on Shreyas Iyer, who is all set to be released by Kolkata Knight Riders, despite leading them to a title win in 2024.

"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 set-up and understands setup well. A very exciting set of players have been retained and a solid squad can be built around these names," the source told TOI.

Iyer previously led Delhi between 2018 and 2020, where the franchise won 21 of the 41 games during the period, which also included a run to the final in 2020.

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