With very little time left for the Mega IPL auction, many surprising and shocking information are doing the rounds regarding the mega event.

Latest news to do the rounds is the removal of Rishabh Pant as Captain of the Delhi Franchise.

Has Rishabh been punished brutally and unfairly by Delhi Capitals based on the failure of Delhi Capitals to make it to the playoffs?

Though Rishabh Pant will be Delhi choice in terms of retention, a change in guard at the leadership level is being discussed in the Delhi camp.

The franchise would believe in reducing the burden of captaincy on the wicketkeeper batsmen to allow him to focus on his core role in the playing eleven.

Axar Patel is Delhi’s current vice-captain and a regular member of the playing eleven. On more than one occasion, Axar Patel has led the Delhi side in the absence of Rishabh Pant. This makes him the ideal replacement for the leadership role. However, we at SuperSports believe Delhi may be eyeing someone more senior for the role and may have some shortlisted names in mind to be targeted in the upcoming mega auction.

“Yes, the Delhi Capitals could be looking for a new captain. There are chances that India allrounder Axar Patel may take over as the new IPL captain or the franchise could be eyeing someone who is captaincy material at the IPL auction,” a source was quoted as saying by the TOI.

Delhi Capitals will however ill-afford to let go of their premier wicketkeeper batsmen but wouldn’t Rishabh want to captain a team at this stage of his career?

Wasn’t that the reason, Shreyas Iyer moved to Kolkata Knight Riders two seasons back?

The Franchise owners believe that Pant would be a better performer if he is not burdened with captaincy.

“Pant, though, is set to be the franchise’s top retention. It’s just that the leadership group at DC feels that he’s better off without the pressures of captaincy,” the source added.

Rishabh captained the Delhi Capitals since IPL 2021 who replaced Shreyas Iyer for the role.

This decision to change captaincy made Shreyas Iyer look to another franchise. To Shreyas Iyer’s credit, his captaincy record for the Delhi Capitals was inspiring, and he was vindicated after the Kolkata Knight Riders won the last-year IPL title under his captaincy.

So, Delhi Capitals has made such strategic blunders in the past and now by pulling Rishabh out of the captaincy, are they repeating a similar blunder?

While Shreyas Iyer’s record was impressive, Rishabh Pant too had a successful stint with Delhi in 2021 when the team finished on top of the tables at the group stage.

They however stumbled in the playoffs and missed on their maiden IPL Title then.

Rishabh Pant’s performance as a player did not change even when he was made the captain.

When Pant missed the entire 2023 season due to a near-fatal accident, the team didn’t make the playoffs in 2023.

The franchise persisted with the southpaw to captain the side on his return in 2024.

While he did perform well as a player in the last season, Delhi Capitals again failed to make it to the playoffs.

Pant’s performance as a player in his comeback season was also very impressive, proving the point that there was no leadership pressure.  He averaged 40.54 in 13 matches with 446 runs. His strike rate was always above 150 in most games. His glove work too was flawless on most occasions.

Rishabh Pant for Team India

After a successful IPL season, Rishabh Pant was part of the World Cup-winning T20 squad as the first-choice wicketkeeper. His comeback to the Indian team after injury was as impressive as his IPL comeback.

In the 2024 season, the Franchise was hurt after the team finished sixth in the table even after Rishabh’s impressive comeback.

The Delhi team could only manage to win seven wins in the 2024 season.

This could be the only reason for the change in strategy for the Delhi franchise.

Super Sports View

It is rumoured that the southpaw has approached the Delhi franchise owners to discuss his future.

While Delhi Capitals has made it clear that Rishabh will be on top of their retention list, there’s more than what meets the eye.

There are more than 3 teams namely, Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings, and Lucknow Super Giants who are desperate to have a captain to lead their respective team.

SuperSports team believes that Rishabh would like to continue being captain of an IPL team. This means that if Delhi Capitals go ahead with their plans to change their captain, Rishabh would jump ship and look to go to a new franchise. Chennai Super Kings may be Rishabh’s choice but only time will tell.

Rishabh Pant with Delhi Capitals

Rishabh Pant has been associated with Delhi Capitals since his IPL debut and has played 111 matches for the franchise.

This would be a hard decision for the southpaw to take. Watch this space.