The real reason Rishabh Pant left DC? Co-owner points to 'philosophical’ divide

Rishabh Pant (Pic: AFP)

Delhi Capitals (DC) co-owner Parth Jindal stated that the franchise's split with star India wicketkeeper-batter and marquee player Rishabh Pant was due to differences in "philosophies" regarding franchise management, and had nothing to do with financial issues.

Pant became the most expensive player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history when Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) purchased him for a staggering Rs 27 crore during the IPL mega auction held in Jeddah on Sunday.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo about Rishabh's departure, Parth said, "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."

Parth admitted that the split had been "devastating" for him personally.

"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.

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Parth clarified that leadership was not a contentious issue leading to Pant's departure, though the wicketkeeper-batter has aspirations of captaining India someday.

"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 concluded.

The dynamic wicketkeeper-batter is an all-format player for India and a livewire on the field. Known for his ability to deliver on big occasions in Test cricket, Pant has an equally solid T20 game. Though his T20I statistics show 1,209 runs in 76 matches at an average of 23.25 and a strike rate of nearly 128, his overall T20 numbers are far more impressive, with 5,022 runs in 202 matches at an average of 31.78, a strike rate exceeding 145, including two centuries and 25 fifties.

Pant has been a vital part of the Delhi Capitals since 2016, scoring 3,284 runs in 110 matches at an average of 35.31, with a century and 18 fifties. He was appointed team captain in 2021 and led DC to the playoffs that same season.

Delhi Capitals squad

Batters: Jake Fraser-McGurk (RTM), Harry Brook, Tristan Stubbs (retained), Faf du Plessis, Karun Nair.Wicketkeepers: KL Rahul, Abishek Porel (retained), Donovan Ferreria.Allrounders: Axar Patel (spin; retained), Ashutosh Sharma (spin), Sameer Rizvi (spin), Darshan Nalkande (pace), Vipraj Nigam (spin), Ajay Mandal (spin), Manvanth Kumar (pace), Tripurana Vijay (spin), Madhav Tiwari (pace).Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav (retained).Fast bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, Dushmantha Chameera.