Delhi Capitals (DC) co-owner Parth Jindal on Wednesday (November 27) addressed queries on whether captaincy was a factor behind the franchise and Rishabh Pant parting ways ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Pant, who made his IPL debut for the Delhi-based franchise in 2016, captained the side in 2021, 2022 and 2024 editions. There was a huge surprise when Pant’s name didn’t feature in DC’s list of retained players for the 2025 season.
In the recently held mega auction, the wicketkeeper-batter made history as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) shelled out INR 27 Crore to secure his services, making him the most expensive buy in IPL history.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Jindal revealed it was a difference in philosophy that led to Pant leaving the Capitals. The managing director of JSW Cements also clarified that money was not the issue, as said by Pant in a viral tweet last week.
“It was just a different philosophy of how he wanted the franchise to operate and how we--the owners--wanted the franchise to operate. That is what caused it. It has nothing to do with money. Money has never been an issue for Rishabh, and money's never been an issue for us. I guess the three of us (Kiran Grandhi, Jindal, and Pant) were on different wavelengths. He took a call at the end of it. We tried everything, but he decided eventually that it was time to move on,” Jindal said.
"I love the boy like my own brother. He took a call at the end of the day. We tried our best. He made the decision, and we have to respect it," he added.
When asked if leadership was the reason, Parth Jindal disclosed that the management had given him a feedback on his captaincy and how he could improve after he made it clear that his goal is to lead the Indian cricket team.
"We gave him some feedback regarding leadership. We suggested ways he could improve, but we were quite clear about his ambitions. We know where he wants to go. He has made it amply clear that his dream and desire is to captain India, and that starts with captaining an IPL team," he remarked.
Rishabh Pant was considered a strong contender for India's vice-captaincy across formats before his accident two years back. He also led India in a five-match T20I series against South Africa in 2022 that ended in a 2-2 draw.
