3 teams who could target Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025 Auction ft. RCB
Who wouldn't want Rishabh Pant in their IPL team? A T20 World Cup winner, an IPL captain who led his team to the top of the table in his first season in charge, a brand value gold mine... all that 27, still shy of his peak.
If given the chance, all 10 teams (except perhaps Delhi Capitals, who let him go) would want to get him in the IPL 2025 auction. But most of the teams would know that they can't afford to go after him - either due to a lack of budget (like Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians) or because they already have someone playing his usual role in their team (like Lucknow Super Giants).
Below, we have listed three teams that don't have these problems (to an extent) and could be the most likely to engage in a bidding war for Pant.
#3 Punjab Kings
If every good player who comes to the IPL 2025 auction is not on the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) radar, then what are they even doing? They have a budget of a whopping ₹110.5 crore, more than double that of most teams, after retaining just two uncapped players, Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh.
PBKS have appointed Ricky Ponting as the head coach, who worked with Pant for the entirety of his captaincy stint at DC. The duo had nothing bad to say about each other, although they couldn't achieve much together. Given the opportunity to build a team from scratch, Ponting shouldn't mind keeping Pant as a batting centerpiece.
There's talk about the Australian legend looking to sign Steve Smith (who he worked with and won the title in Major League Cricket) as captain. But even still, Pant can be a brilliant middle-order addition, with his batting style complimenting Smith's.
Last year, Pant seemed to show signs of his vintage self with the bat. If Ponting can help him do that consistently, it would be too good an opportunity for PBKS to miss.
#2 Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) seemed to have got their retentions right after ages. They have retained Virat Kohli, the obvious choice, but two brilliant T20 players in Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal to form a good core.
Best of all, they have the second-highest budget left - ₹83 crore. With Faf du Plessis not retained, that gives them more than enough wiggle room to get a captain and build a team around him. With Kohli there, he'd be able to get accustomed to RCB's culture and perhaps even get better as a captain.
Pant won't mind moving to the Chinnaswamy Stadium as it'll help his batting and in turn, RCB would get another countrywide-admired leader. Andy Flower, like Ponting, and perhaps even better than him, might be able to get the best out of Pant.
In one go, RCB will get a long-term star captain (perhaps next in line after Kohli), a sort-of Glenn Maxwell replacement, a perfect partner to Patidar, and one of the best wicketkeepers in India. It would be one of the best deals in the franchise's history if they can him.
#1 Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings don't have the biggest purses left at ₹55 crore. But they are one of the few teams whose interest in Pant has been mentioned in a The Indian Express has claimed CSK are ready to set apart more than ₹20 crore for him and organize their strategy around it.
The move makes a lot of sense, even though Pant would unlikely get captaincy from Ruturaj Gaikwad who oversaw a smooth transition only last year. In Pant, though, CSK will get the emotional icon for life whenever MS Dhoni decides to finally let it go; there can't be a better successor for the legend.
CSK have also often missed both Suresh Raina and Ambati Raydu in their middle order - a metronome who's excellent against spin and can play cameos and big knocks with equally destructive strike rates. Pant, alongside Shivam Dube, would be a cheat code for CSK at Chepauk, perhaps helping them make it a fortress too.
Even without captaincy, Pant would be as loved at CSK as Dhoni, and with the senior pro taking most of the limelight, it'll allow the junior to settle in. If CSK can build the rest of their squad in ₹30 crore, Pant would be a generational signing for the franchise.