Delhi Capitals knew they had lost Rishabh Pant "the minute" he decided to go into the IPL auction. Pant is no longer with the franchise, as he became the most expensive player in IPL history after Lucknow Super Giants outbid DC to buy him for over $3 million (INR 27 crore) this week. In the following interview, DC's co-owner Parth Jindal explains vividly why the retentions talks with Pant were not successful. Jindal also talks about who could lead DC in the new IPL cycle (2025-27), a decision he will take in association with Kiran Grandhi, the other co-owner of the franchise.
KL Rahul is now a frontrunner to lead DC?
It's a bit premature to talk about the captaincy. Axar Patel has been with the franchise for a very long time and he was the vice-captain for the last cycle, so we don't know whether it's going to be Axar or whether it's going be somebody else. A lot has to happen. I spoke to KL but haven't met him yet. I know him very well personally, I will understand from him (what he thinks), and, it will boil down to what the coaching group and finally what Kiran (Grandhi, the co-owner) and I want to do. There's a lot of time for that.
What did Rahul say?
He's very happy, very excited to be part of Delhi. He knows me for a long time. He's a Bangalore (Bengaluru) boy. I own Bengaluru FC (in the Indian Super League), so he's watched a few games with me. I know his wife Athiya (Shetty) really well. She's been a close family friend growing up in Mumbai. So he (Rahul) was like, "I just want to play cricket. I just want to get the love and support from the franchise. I just want to get the respect and I know Parth from you, I will get that and just can't be more excited to play for a friend and let's make Delhi win. I have never won (IPL). Delhi has never won. Let's do it together."
Capitals also tried to get Shreyas Iyer - can you talk about that bid?
Going into the auction, obviously we had a budget in mind for a marquee Indian batsman. Shreyas and Rishabh were coming out in the first set and KL was coming out in the second set. We were very clear that between the three of them, we needed to get one. So we went all the way for Shreyas. Frankly, it (Shreyas' bid) went a bit too high and I think my reaction was very visible on the table (chuckles) - it (the bid) had crossed all budgets.
Rishabh came out next. We did do the right-to-match for him at INR 20.25 (crore), but again, the budget went extremely high. And (then) we got KL for well below what we anticipated he would go at - it's a real blessing in disguise that we got him.
What does KL offer you?
Stability, number one. He's an incredible, I would say, technically solid batsman. He will thrive at the Kotla, given the size of the ground. He also gives us flexibility: he can bat anywhere in the top four, and that's a very rare skill for someone to have. He's also great senior player to have in the dressing room, a great mind of the game as well. And he's just a great brand ambassador. He's super polite, he's gentle, he's aggressive when he needs to be. And the most obvious thing he gives you is 450 runs (in a season) guaranteed, which is something he's done his whole (IPL) career. So that kind of consistency is rare to find.
You are right. There's only one season between 2018 and 2024 where he did not score 500 runs, which was the season he got injured and only managed to play nine games with LSG in 2023. So you are looking to build the batting line-up around him?
In terms of responsibility, KL and Axar are going to play a bigger role for the batting, and we are going to be surrounding them with explosive players - whether it's a Jake Fraser-McGurk, whether it's a Tristan Stubbs, whether it's a Harry Brook, whether it's an Ashutosh Sharma - there is a lot of explosive power in the team. And you need someone to hold the team together, and, in KL we have a batsman who can definitely hold one end up and play on those difficult wickets as well. Because looking at the way Chennai (Super Kings) have lined up, looking at the way some of the other teams are lined up, there are going to be some dust bowls in the IPL. So you definitely need players who can navigate those kinds of situations and also guide some of these younger players on what to do.
Before I come to Rishabh Pant, describe your reaction, in your own words, about the Shreyas bid?
By the end of it, I think the emotion had taken over strategy. It was madness by the end of it. It would've spoiled our whole auction if we had landed either of those players (Shreyas or Pant) at those prices.
Why?
We wouldn't have (had) enough money for building the rest of the squad. We would've not been able to get the fast bowlers we ended up getting. We wouldn't have been able to get Jake (Fraser-McGurk) back. We wouldn't have been able to get a Harry Brook. It would've really compromised the balance of our team.
The number then you clearly had in your mind before the auction for either of those two was not that high then?
No. We were okay to stretch up to INR 22-23 (crore).
Whether it be Shreyas, whether it be Pant?
Rishabh, we lost him when we didn't retain him. That was very, very clear. it would've been a huge fluke if we got him at INR 21 or 22 (crore) at that level. The minute we didn't retain him, I knew he was gone.
Disappointing slightly, I guess?
Oh, devastating. Completely devastating. I love the boy like my own brother. He took a call at the end of the day. We tried our best. He took the decision, and we have to respect it.
It was clearly not about money?
It was just a different philosophy of how he wanted the franchise to operate and how us - the owners - wanted the franchise to operate. That's what caused it. There's nothing to do with money. Money's never been an issue for Rishabh. And money's never been an issue for us. I guess the three of us (Grandhi, Jindal and Pant) were on different wavelengths. He took a call at the end of it. We tried everything, but he decided eventually that it was time to move on.
What was Kiran [Grandhi]'s input on Pant before the final decision was taken?
His equation with Rishabh is different from mine. He's known Rishabh for a lot longer than I have. Kiran was also very clear that we must try to retain him and we can bend as much as possible, but beyond a certain point, he (Pant) needs to understand where we are coming from and if that mutual understanding is missing, then the two have to take a decision.
What is the philosophy you mentioned?
It means the way the franchise is to run, the decisions of the franchise, those kinds of things. There were certain expectations that he had and there were certain expectations we had. And without going into further details, I can just say that we couldn't align on these things.
Was leadership one of the key talking points?
Not really. We gave him some feedback regarding leadership. We told him ways in which he could improve on that, but we were quite clear that we know his ambitions, we know where he wants to go. He's made it amply clear that his dream and desire is to captain India and that starts with captaining an IPL team.
Sticking to the leadership point, you have mentioned Axar, the first player DC retained, is or could be in contention at least to lead. What is it that Axar brings as a leader?
See, Axar has been with the franchise for a long period of time. He has been a tremendous player for the franchise. He is probably the best allrounder in the game today in T20s. Obviously, the successor to Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) is Axar in all respects. So he's been phenomenal for us and he's done a great job as the vice-captain of the franchise. Whenever Rishabh was not available, whenever Rishabh was injured, Axar did step in and play a big role. He's a jovial fellow, he keeps the dressing room very light. He's an uncomplicated character and he's someone who, I think, can do a great job. So we have to take a decision, but I haven't even spoken to Axar about it. I haven't spoken to anybody about it, but he's definitely someone we consider to read the game very well. He's definitely someone who keeps the dressing room together, which are good characteristics for a leader.
And you've also got JFM, Tristan Stubbs and Harry Brook - on paper at least, these three can set fireworks if they are in the mood and if they get into the rhythm..
Don't forget, Ashutosh Sharma. Like you said, those three explosive players are in our team, JFM, Harry Brook and Stubbs. And then you have KL, Axar, and (Abhishek) Porel. So I think (our) batting is very, very strong. We kept in mind the conditions at the Kotla while choosing our team. It looks like 230, 240 is now the par score at the Kotla, so we need to have that kind of firepower to either make that score or chase that score.
You also got Mitchell Starc who proved to be a smart and cheap buy compared to the record price he got last auction. No doubt he is going to be DC's bowling leader?
Yeah, of course. We were looking for someone to lead the bowling line-up. He brings together that winning mentality. He's not only a World Cup winner, he (also) won the IPL last season. He's very handy with the bat and he's a very nice person as well. I was hearing Harshit Rana's interview and Harshit talking about how much he picked up from Mitchell Starc. So he brings a lot of benefits as a cricketer.
Mukesh (Kumar), too, really understands the conditions in Delhi. He's really coming into his own as well as a bowler, both with the new ball and at the death. And then Nattu (T Natarajan), too,is great. We were very keen on (getting) him. I remember last season when Sunrisers (Hyderabad) were playing Delhi at the Kotla - Natarajan was very difficult to get away because of his yorkers, his slower-ball bouncers, his change-ups. From Rishabh to everyone else, they found it very difficult to get him away. So, from that day, we realised that, okay, this is a bowler we need to target. Mohit (Sharma) again, same thing: can bowl at the death, can bowl with a new ball, back-of-the-hand, has changeups. Very experienced bowler. And then you have (Dushmanta) Chameera, who can fill in if anything happens to any of our fast bowlers.
DC also have a new and young coaching staff in Venugopal Rao (team director) and Hemang Badani (head coach). Is Sourav Ganguly (director of cricket until 2024) there to help them out or will they be independent, and you are going to allow them the space to grow?
It's up to them really. We are always available. Dada (Ganguly) is always available. I'm always available for whatever that they may require. It's our team. From what I have seen during the preparations for the auctions, they are very confident in their own abilities, and I feel very confident that they'll be able to do a very good job for the franchise.
So you are looking forward to DC turning a new leaf then?
Turning a new leaf is one way of saying it. It's emotional because you let go of players who have been with you for so many years, but you also get the opportunity to build new relationships and develop new players as well.
When you don't do well in a cycle, like for us, this previous cycle was an unsuccessful cycle: fifth place, ninth place, and fifth place (between 2022-24). No playoffs for Delhi Capitals. So you look forward to a mega auction much more. The previous cycle (2018-21) when we came third, lost in the finals, came top of the table and lost both the Eliminators. (Back then) We were very upset to get into the (2022) mega auction. The dynamics keep changing, but it is what makes the IPL so special, and, I hope that the mega auction continues forever because it's truly what makes the IPL so unique.