Rishabh Pant was not retained by his IPL franchise Delhi Capitals.
Rishabh Pant of India was one of the few batters who could withstand the onslaught of Australian bowlers as the first Test of the BGT 2024 began in Perth on November 22 onwards. India had won the toss and captain Jasprit Bumrah opted to bat first.
India could only manage 150 runs and were bowled out at tea. Debutant Nitish Reddy with 41, Rishabh Pant with 37, and KL Rahul with 26 runs were the main scorers for India.
For Australia, Josh Hazlewood picked 4/29, while Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Mitchell Marsh picked two wickets each.
Despite the Test being going on, the players were seemingly keeping one eye on the upcoming IPL 2025 auction that will happen in Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25.
The left-handed batter who finished as the Delhi Capitals' best run scorer in the IPL 2024 was not retained by the Delhi franchise.
He has a base price of Rs 2 crore, and many fans and game experts believe Pant will smash the record for the highest bid for any player in IPL auction history.
Mitchell Starc, the Australian bowler, holds the record for the most expensive player in the IPL, having joined KKR for INR 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction.
When Rishabh Pant was batting, Australia spinner Nathan Lyon quizzed Pant about which IPL team he would join in the auction, and in reply, Pant gave a two-word reaction.
In a viral video, Lyon asked, “Where we going in the auction?" and in reply, Pant said, “No idea."
Pant, who came out to bat at No. 5 for India in the first innings, became the third Indian cricketer after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to score 2000 runs in the World Test Championship.