"He said he wanted to go to the auction and test the market" - DC coach makes shocking claim about Rishabh Pant's non-retention in IPL 2025 auction

Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Hemang Badani made a stunning claim about Rishabh Pant's non-retention ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. Only a few days after co-owner Parth Jindal and Pant himself confirmed money wasn't a reason behind the wicketkeeper's exit from the franchise, Badani said to the contrary.

The newly appointed head coach stated DC's keenness to retain Pant but the skipper wanted to go the opposite route and test his market at the auction.

In a conversation with Subramaniam Badrinath on a YouTube show, Badani said:

"Yes (Delhi Capitals were interested in retaining him). He said he wanted to go to the auction and test the market. He said he had a feeling that there were chances he would get more money than the highest cap for retained player, which is Rs 18 crore. He wanted not to be retained. He said he wanted to to the auction and test the market."

He added:

"If you want to retain a player, both parties (the team and the player) have to agree on certain things. We tried talking to him, the management tried talking to him. There were a lot of phone calls and messages exchanged. And, at the end of the day, he felt he was worth more. And the market said the same thing. He got Rs 27 crore. Good for him. He is a very good player. We will obviously miss him. But, life goes on."

Pant became the most expensive signing in IPL history at ₹27 crores, with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) acquiring his services.

"My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say" - Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant had confirmed that his non-retention with DC had nothing to do with money in a response to former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar, who felt otheriwse.

The 27-year-old spent all nine years of his IPL career with DC, starting from the 2016 season.

"My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say," tweeted Pant in response to Gavaskar.

DC co-owner Parth Jindal also stated that Pant's inability to take feedback led to an emotional call from the wicketkeeper.

"We gave him feedback. The feedback was not taken as we expected it to be taken. And yeah, it's okay. He took an emotional call. He has also grown up in this franchise. He was a young boy when he started. Delhi Daredevils gave him the opportunity. Kiran gave him his first opportunity. I came into the franchise later and developed a very strong bond with him," said Parth Jindal to India Today.

Rishabh Pant enjoyed incredible success with DC, scoring 3,284 runs at an average of 35.31 and a strike rate of 148.93 in 111 outings.