‘My retention wasn’t about money for sure’: Pant reveals ahead of IPL auction
India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has revealed that his release from Delhi Capitals squad ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction was not about the money.
Delhi Capitals’ skipper Rishabh Pant said he was confident of their chances of winning the match against Kolkata Knight Riders despite his team being reduced to 84/5 at one time.
Pant said he was sure they would pull it through if they managed to take it deep into the death overs.
David Warner (42) and Lalit Yadav (22) had rescued Delhi from a 17/2 to guide them to 82/1 before they lost three wickets for two runs and looked in trouble. Axar Patel (24) and Rovman Powell (33 not out) then did enough to pull them through to 150/6 in 19 overs after Kuldeep Yadav (4/14) and Mustafizur Rahman (3/18) shared seven wickets to restrict Knight Riders to a modest 146/9 in 20 overs.
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But even when it looked like Delhi were losing their way, thanks mainly to pacer Umesh Yadav, who claimed 3/24, Pant said he was confident they would win if one batter managed to stay longer at the wicket.
Asked what he was thinking with the score of 84/5, Pant said, “Obviously we were thinking that we lost too many wickets in the middle, but if we take the game deep because there were not enough runs needed at that point, then we thought if we take it deep we will get across the line. Obviously, it’s good to have Marsh back. But Khaleel got injured in the last match. Once he’s back, I think we will be 100 per cent.”
Pant praised Rovman Powell for his role as a finisher as he saw the team to victory.
“Most of all we have thought about time to give him a certain number of overs. But in these kinds of situations when you lose too many wickets, he has to come in. But we look at him in a finisher role and he has done well for us.
He said Delhi Capitals are not looking too much ahead as of now.
“We are not thinking too much about the points table. We are taking it one match at a time. We can be more clear with our plans because when you are under pressure if you are clear with your plans, that one or two extra boundaries can be the difference in the match. That’s something we are working on, a little bit more energy in the field,” said Rishabh Pant.
(Inputs from IANS)
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