Which teams might target Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025 mega auction

Rishabh Pant is currently one of India’s most valuable assets. With his aggressive batting and flexible wicketkeeping skills, he is widely regarded as one of the best wicketkeeper-batters in the world currently. In the IPL also, his captaincy skills and aggressive stroke play made him a standout player for the Delhi Capitals. Over his IPL career, Pant has played 111 matches, scoring 3,284 runs at an average of 35.31.

However, things are set to change as Rishabh Pant is no longer with the Delhi Capitals, as the retention lists are already out, and DC decided to part ways with him. It will be interesting to see whether they will get back Pant’s services via the RTM card or not. If not, Pant will play for a new IPL team.

So, which teams are eagerly eyeing Rishabh Pant in the IPL 2025 mega auction? Since he is one of the big names entering the auction, several teams needing a strong wicketkeeper-batter will likely show interest. See three teams who may be eyeing Pant in the IPL 2025 mega auction.

CSK

There is no question that CSK needs a player like Rishabh Pant, yes, they currently have MS Dhoni, but he is surely not part of CSK’s long-term future. If we look at CSK’s pattern of buying players, it shows how they prioritize players who stay with the team for a decent number of years. From Ravindra Jadeja to MS Dhoni himself, all have remained loyal to the camp. Now, Pant, with his ability to put up big scores and similar wicketkeeping attributes to Dhoni, may eventually take Dhoni’s place, if not in the upcoming IPL, then perhaps later on. There are already numerous talks showing  that CSK will try to bring Pant on board if they can. However, getting Rishabh Pant is not going to be easy, given his reputation as a big player, as many teams will likely aim to get him on their side.

PBKS

One team with almost no players currently but enough money to target big names is Punjab Kings. They made a bold move by releasing the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone, retaining just two names, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh. As a result, PBKS doesn’t have many players in their lineup but has a large budget, with INR 110.5 crore available to spend. With this amount, they could potentially secure a superstar like Pant. Since they currently lack a wicketkeeper-batter and captain, there’s a possibility that Pant could also take on the captaincy role for PBKS in IPL 2025.

LSG

Another team that made a bold move is Lucknow Super Giants by releasing KL Rahul. As captain and wicketkeeper-batter, he performed exceptionally well for LSG since their inception in 2022, leading the team to the playoffs in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. However, a poor 2024 season was disappointing for both the camp and Rahul, leading to his release by the franchise. This means the team now lacks both a captain and a wicketkeeper-batter, creating an opportunity for Rishabh Pant. It will be interesting to see how things goes, as LSG could benefit from an aggressive batter like Pant, who could also fill the wicketkeeping spot.