Former Indian player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has said that the Delhi Capitals’ (DC) decision to release Rishabh Pant and Jake Fraser-McGurk ahead of the IPL 2025 auction was surprising. He also added that rumours about the franchise not wanting to retain Pant is their captain for the upcoming edition of the league could also be true as well. However, Delhi Capitals retained only four players – Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs and Abishek Porel and have ₹73 crore left in their purse heading into the auction.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “This team’s story was that the discussion was more on who they released than who they retained because there are two players, who when they were released, eyebrows were raised. First is, of course, Rishabh Pant. Rishabh Pant would have left only because he would have wanted to go.”
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“It’s not possible the team wouldn’t have wanted to retain him. Either Rishabh Pant didn’t want to stay or he wasn’t retained. I am sure they would have thought about retaining him. Someone even spread the rumor that they didn’t want to make him the captain. It is in the realm of possibility but no one knows the truth. You let him and Jake Fraser-McGurk also go, although you have the RTM card available,” Chopra further added.
In the same video, Aakash Chopra also stated that the Delhi Capitals made the right decision to retain Axar Patel.
“If you see Delhi’s retentions, Axar Patel – 16.50 crores, No. 1 retention, makes a lot of sense. Kuldeep Yadav for 13.25 crores, Tristan Stubbs for 10 crores, and Abishek Porel, since he is an uncapped Indian, has been signed for four crores only. They have lost more money than they have spent,” he said.
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“They have ensured that eight overs of spin is perfect. I feel Axar Patel could have been one of the most expensive players if he had gone into the auction. He could actually be a captaincy candidate. I feel retaining Kuldeep Yadav was also absolutely right because considering the tiny ground you play on, if you don’t have craft in your bowling, you are not useful. So Kuldeep Yadav staying there is absolutely imperative. Tristan Stubbs is absolutely gold dust. Since he came for 10 crores, I would say the daddy of gold dust,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
