It came as a surprise when Delhi Capitals released their star batsman Rishabh Pant on the retention deadline ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Pant was with the Capitals since 2016 and was named captain in 2021 to replace the injured Shreyas Iyer, continuing in the role for IPL 2022.

After recovering from a serious car accident in December 2022, Pant returned for IPL 2024, regaining the captaincy and scoring 446 runs, although it ended up being another average season for the team.

The reason for Pant’s release was that he not only requested to continue as captain of Delhi Capitals but also expressed interest in participating in the election of the coaching staff. However, the franchise was reportedly not completely convinced with his T20 performances, which ultimately led to their decision to let him go.

Also Read: 10 Wicketkeeper-batsmen who may start a bidding war in IPL 2025 auction

How many RTM cards do Delhi capitals have after holds?

Delhi Capitals retained four key players ahead of IPL 2025 auction: Axar Patel for INR 16.50 crore, Kuldeep Yadav for INR 13.25 crore, Tristan Stubbs for INR 10 crore and Abhishek Porel for INR 4 crore crores.

Abhishek Porel has been retained as an unlimited player, allowing Delhi Capitals to use their right to match (RTM) for a limited player and a non-limited player, or they can opt to use both RTMs on limited players during the auction.

What happens if Delhi Capitals uses RTM card on Rishabh Pant?

The RTM card gives a franchise the opportunity to buy back a player from their previous season by simply matching the final auction price. In past auctions, if a team wanted to use RTM, the auctioneer would ask them directly after selling the player, allowing them to lock him in at the final bidding price.

This year the rule has changed. If a franchise uses RTM, the team with the highest bid will have an additional opportunity to increase its bid. The original team would have to match this increased offer to retain the player.

In case of Rishabh Pant, it is unlikely that DC will use their RTM card for him. However, if Pant opts for a surprisingly low offer, DC could consider using RTM to bring him back. However, that scenario seems quite unlikely.

Furthermore, the decision to release Pant appears to have been mutual, involving both DC and Pant himself, making it even less likely that DC plans to use RTM to bring him back.

If not gasp, who else could the Delhi Capitals target with RTM?

Instead of Pant, DC could consider using their RTM on players like Jake Fraser-McGurk or Rasikh Salam. Fraser-McGurk, a promising young batsman, impressed with 330 runs at a strike rate of 234.04 in IPL 2024, but DC eventually retained Tristan Stubbs in his place.

Meanwhile, Salam, who excelled in the Emerging Asia Cup T20 with nine wickets, could strengthen DC’s pace unit. If he is available at a reasonable price, DC could prioritize bringing him back using RTM, rather than other pacers like Khaleel Ahmed or Mukesh Kumar.

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