Since the past few months, speculations have been circulating regarding Rishabh Pant possibly shifting bases in the Indian Premier League. This hypothesis became even more rampant once Ricky Ponting, who had coached the franchise for seven straight seasons, stepped down from his role.
Aakash Chopra, a former cricket player for India, asserted that the wicketkeeper-batter combination is here to stay and cited a story indicating that DC and Pant had already finalised their agreement.
“Rishabh Pant is here to stay. Rumours surfaced suggesting a breakup between Rishabh Pant and the Delhi Capitals. Since Ricky Ponting left for Punjab (Kings), Rishabh Pant may take over as captain of the Punjab team; alternatively, since Rishabh Pant has expressed a strong desire to play in Chennai, perhaps Chennai (Super Kings) was the destination. All of the rumours, according to a report on, should be completely stopped. The Delhi Capitals will be led by Rishabh Pant. An exaggerated figure has been used to cement the transaction. Delhi, you’ve done a great job on this one. “Keep him close to you; you won’t find someone else quite like him,” Chopra said in a video uploaded to his YouTube page.
You remain there and turn Delhi into the winners: Aakash Chopra
Chopra further stated that the incidents in which Pant’s official Punjab Kings account congratulated him on his sixth Test century against Bangladesh and his admission during a press conference that he enjoyed playing in Chennai were coincidental and not to be taken too seriously.
“Many franchise handles wished Rishabh well when he just got a century, and we prominently showed the Punjab handle among them. After then, there were rumours that he was coming to Punjab since Rishabh Pant and Ricky Ponting had a long relationship. They have a great relationship. I’ve heard that’s not the case, though. He declared after reaching a century in Chennai that he enjoyed playing there and that he really loved Mahi bhai, or MS Dhoni. Once more, there were a lot of rumours circulating that Rishabh Pant would play for CSK, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. He would remain in Delhi, if the news we are reading is accurate,” said Chopra.
The former player for Delhi State stated that Pant’s decision to stay with Delhi might be crucial to the state team’s and the IPL team’s championship victories. He also mentioned the other players the report indicated the Capitals would keep.
He would receive a substantial sum of money; I like it. He was already at 16 crores. You remain there and lead Delhi to victory. Nothing is won by Delhi. They hadn’t won the Ranji Trophy since 2007–08, when we were competing. Since then, they have yet to win either the Ranji or the IPL. Under him, they may prevail. The other names that are being mentioned are Jake Fraser-McGurk, Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, and Kuldeep Yadav. According to the study, if only five are permitted to be kept, then these five will receive a little more attention. It is, in my opinion, typical. It’s exactly along predicted lines,” Chopra continued.
Also Read: IPL2025: Delhi Capitals’ top retention choice will be Rishabh Pant
From 2019 to 2021, Pant led the Capitals to three consecutive postseason appearances. Chopra may have been correct to point out that Pant was one of the factors that spurred Delhi’s title challenge, given the team’s dismal performance since the 2021 season.