Delhi Capitals (DC) can fill Rishabh Pant’s absence in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 by planning to acquire back their former skipper Shreyas Iyer, who can contribute effectively as a captain and middle-order batter.
Pant scored 3,284 runs for DC in 111 IPL innings batting at a strike rate of 148.93 and 35.51 average. In addition, these are the contributions, the 27-year-old cricketer made to his franchise:
- Highest Individual score by any DC batter: 128 runs from 63 balls (including 15 fours and 7 sixes).
- Most capped player: 111 matches for DC.
- Maximum sixes for the franchise: 154 sixes.
- Most runs for DC in a single IPL season: 684 runs in 14 matches in IPL 2018.
Rishabh Pant has not only proven himself as a brilliant captain but also as an outstanding wicketkeeper and fearless left-handed batter. Possibly, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan can fulfill the role of a captain, keeper, and an aggressive batter.
The franchise is yet to lift its first-ever IPL trophy and the upcoming mega auction has proven to be a valuable opportunity to build a fresh squad. As a result, the franchise released the captain Rishabh Pant along with other important players by submitting the retention list on October 31 (Thursday) consisting of only four players such as Axar Patel, Abhishek Porel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Tristan Stubbs.
Since the inaugural season to the previous edition, DC managed to reach finals once in 2020 under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy and concluded as that season’s runner-up.
With the third-highest auction purse of INR 73 crores, let’s find out the eligible players Delhi Capitals could target as a replacement for Rishabh Pant as well as guide the team to a glorious season.
Shreyas Iyer:
It could be a homecoming moment for Shreyas Iyer for the reason that he not only played for Delhi Capitals as a batter but also guided the team to its first IPL final. At present, he isn’t in his peak form, but the franchise would target him for his leadership skills. This is because his winning percentage of 56.09% as a captain is the highest for DC till the recent edition.
Especially, Iyer’s presence in the middle order is crucial for Delhi to overcome any obstacles. For instance, in the IPL 2020 finals, Shreyas scored 50-ball-65 runs (including 6 fours and 2 sixes) that uplifted the team’s total to 156-7 in 20 overs.
His second stint with the franchise could open a new chapter in IPL history, having the possibility to claim their maiden championship title.
Also, there would be fewer teams that would aim to acquire Iyer as a captain and T20 batter in the auction. Possibly, DC could be involved in an intense bidding war to re-sign Shreyas Iyer into the squad.
KL Rahul:
The chances of KL Rahul joining Delhi Capitals (DC) seem to be very low if other franchises such as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) emerge to pay huge paychecks. At the same time, there are strong chances that DC could prefer him as a captain and middle-order batter if he joins the team in the next season.
In terms of leadership and keeping behind the stumps, Rahul and Pant possess common qualities. As a wicketkeeper-batsman, KL Rahul is aiming to strengthen his T20 career and implement a possible transition from opening to middle order slot, which wouldn’t have been possible with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Also, with KL’s composed attitude in leading the IPL teams in the past for Punjab Kings (PBKS) or LSG, the franchise could plan to secure his services as a reliable skipper who could serve the captaincy role for a long-term basis.
Ishan Kishan:
As Mumbai Indians (MI) has released one of its best batsmen, it could be a boon for other franchises such as Delhi Capitals to offer Ishan Kishan a lucrative salary to fit into the role of captaincy, wicketkeeping, and batting.
The 26-year-old left-handed batter has the flexibility to bat at the top and middle order by executing his shots freely without worrying about the bowlers’ variation. He was one of the top six batters for MI to score 2000-plus runs in IPL from 2018 to 2024.
Mainly, as an opening batter, Kishan could provide aggressive starts to his team, particularly during the first six overs of the powerplay.
The young talented cricketer is currently undergoing issues with BCCI’s central contract and aims to deliver world-class performance to get back to his national cricket team.
The left-handed batting style and the fearless approach of Ishan and Rishabh are identical. Overall, Ishan Kishan could be the modified version of Rishabh Pant in terms of batting, wicketkeeping, and leadership skills by promising to make noteworthy contributions if he joins DC in IPL 2025.
