DC IPL 2025 Retentions: Rishabh Pant to go under hammer with Delhi Capitals' exit; Axar Patel and others retained; Here's list

Dashing keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has left Delhi Capitals and will be the hottest player in the IPL auction pool after the GMR-run franchise decided to release the star player for the upcoming IPL.

JSW-GMR co-owned Delhi Capitals announced the retention of key players as we prepare for the upcoming season. "After thorough evaluations and strategic discussions, we have decided to retain Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs and Abishek Porel ahead of this year’s mega auction," said the team in a press release.

"This decision underscores our commitment to building a competitive and dynamic squad. Our management, coaching staff and analysts have worked tirelessly to assess player performances and contributions, ensuring we are well-positioned for success," the notification further noted.

DC IPL 2025 retained players

The four retained players of Delhi Capitals are:

1. Axar Patel
2. Kuldeep Yadav
3. Abhishek Porel
4. Tristan Stubbs

Shreyas Iyer to lead DC?

"Once GMR appointed Venugopal Rao as Director of Cricket and Hemang Badani as head coach, the writing was on cards. GMR is also in talks with Shreyas Iyer, under whom the team played its only final in 2020. Iyer is not going to play for KKR," a source tracking DC's development told PTI on the condition of anonymity on Wednesday.

Currently the DC management structure allows each of the co-owner to run the team for two years.

"This is a complicated structure and it would always be counter-productive for a team. So once management came in hands of GMR, they overhauled it completely," the source said.

It is understood that once the Kiran Grandhi-led management decided on getting rid of Pant, things couldn't be salvaged as people who know the cricketer vouched that he had felt "hurt" at the turn of events.

At the IPL auctions, Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings could go the whole hog for Pant.

DC's performance in IPL 2024:

The Delhi Capitals narrowly missed securing a playoff berth last year, finishing in sixth place. Before the season, Delhi Capitals were counting on David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, and Mitchell Marsh to handle most of the batting responsibilities as Rishabh Pant made his return. However, injuries and lackluster performances left the team struggling, resulting in just one win from their first five matches.