Days after Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal said Rishabh Pant’s exit was not about money, their newly-appointed head coach, Hemang Badani gave a contrasting reason for the wicketkeeper-batter’s departure. Badani said Delhi were keen on retaining Pant, but their former captain was intent on ‘testing the market’ in the IPL mega auction, which was held on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Hemang Badani said Rishabh Pant felt he could get more money than the highest cap for retained players — which was Rs 18 crore.
Pant was eventually released by the Delhi franchise. At the mega auction, he broke the all-time record for the most expensive buy when he was sold to the Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore. Delhi Capitals tried to use the Right to Match card and buy back Pant for Rs 21 crore. However, Lucknow raised the bid to Rs 27 crore, leaving the rest of the auction room stunned. Eventually, LSG secured the historic deal.
“I think it’s the other way around. He wanted not to be retained. He said he wanted to to the auction and test the market. If you want to retain a player, both parties (the team and the player) have to agree on certain things. We tried talking to him, the management tried talking to him. There were a lot of phone calls and messages exchanged,” Hemang Badani told Subramaniam Badrinath in a YouTube show.
“Yes (Delhi Capitals were interested in retaining him). He said he wanted to go to the auction and test the mark. He said he had a feeling that there were chances he would get more money than the highest cap for retained player, which is Rs 18 crore.
“And, at the end of the day, he felt he was worth more. And the market said the same thing. He got Rs 27 crore. Good for him. He is a very good player. We will obviously miss him. But, life goes on,” he added.
Badani’s version of the turn of events is in contrast to earlier statements fromPant and co-owner Jindal. Pant denied speculation about his departure in a tweet before the mega auction.
“My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say,” Rishabh Pant said, responding to a video in which Sunil Gavaskar had said the wicketkeeper and the franchise might not have agreed on money.
Parth Jindal, meanwhile, had said that money was not an issue for either of the two parties, and highlighted that Pant did not take feedback as well as they expected.
“We gave him feedback. The feedback was not taken as we expected it to be taken. And yeah, it’s okay. He took an emotional call. He has also grown up in this franchise. He was a young boy when he started. Delhi Daredevils gave him the opportunity. Kiran gave him his first opportunity. I came into the franchise later and developed a very strong bond with him,” Jindal told India Today in an interview.
Delhi Capitals eventually bought KL Rahul for Rs 14 crore and also bought Mitchell Starc at Rs 11 crore while doing some smart business in the auction.
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