India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant rubbished the reports of his transfer to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of the IPL mega auctions. The Delhi Capitals captain, who made a comeback to the side in this year's edition after recovering from a long injury layoff that kept him away from the cricket field for 15 months, did not mince words in a strongly worded post on social media platform X. In a direct message to those spreading "misinformation", a furious Pant said there was no need to create an "untrustworthy environment for no reason"

"Fake news. Why do you guys spread so much fake news on social media? Be sensible guys, so bad," Pant wrote, replying to a fan post that claimed "Pant approached RCB through his manager" to replace Faf du Plessis as their captain, which was "declined by them". The post also claimed that "Virat Kohli did not want Pant in RCB due to his political tactics in Indian team as well as in DC."

Pant said the spread of misinformation on social media platforms is worsening, and people should verify their sources before disseminating information.

"Don’t create untrustworthy environment for no reason. It’s not the first time and won’t be last but I had to put this out .please always re check with your so called sources. Everyday it’s becoming worst. Rest it’s upto you guys. It’s wasn’t just for you it’s for a lot for people who is spreading misinformation," he said.

Pant was appointed the captain of Delhi Captials in 2021 after an injury ruled out regular captain Shreyas Iyer for the entire season. Ahead of next year's edition, Shreyas Iyer was released by DC and picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in the auctions. Pant led DC in 2022 but for the 2023 edition, David Warner was named as the leader as Pant was ruled out of the tournament. The dashing left-hander was reinstated as the captain as soon as he regained fitness ahead of the 17th edition of IPL.

IPL retention and transfer talks

The transfer talks of big players in the IPL have been on the rise, with the mega auction being less than three months away. BCCI are yet to finalise the retention rules for all 10 franchises ahead of the mega auctions but multiple media reports suggest that each franchise will get five to six retentions. There was no clarity on RTM (Right to Match) cards.

In the last mega auction in 2022, teams were allowed only four retentions; a maximum of three Indians, with no RTM card permissible. This was to give new entrants Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants a wider pool of players to build their squad.

In a recent meeting of IPL officials and franchise owners, opinions were divided on what the auction regulations should be. 2024 winners Kolkata Knight Riders wanted teams to be allowed to retain their core and had put up the radical idea of allowing eight RTMs. Runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad wanted to retain a lot of their team as well but wanted flexibility with regulations as many of their key assets like Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen are foreigners. Other teams like LSG, keen on starting fresh, are known to have voted for fewer retentions.

Franchises will be given ample time to declare their retentions for the mega auction, likely to be staged in late November. Teams sitting on the fence over retentions would want to closely evaluate the cost-benefit analysis before deciding if a player could prove to be a bargain buy if they chased him in the auction. Not every team maximises their retention quota, like Punjab Kings in 2022, when they retained only two players.

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