 "IPL 2025 Auction: Here's why Delhi Capitals could retain Rishabh Pant")
Ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) retentions, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh recommended that Delhi Capitals keep Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, and Jake Fraser-McGurk.
Delhi Capitals reached their first-ever final in 2020, but in the last season, they missed the playoffs by net run rate, finishing with seven wins, seven losses, and 14 points. Check India vs New Zealand 3rd Test Day 1 Live score and match updates here
In the 2024 IPL season, Pant scored 446 runs in 13 matches with a strike rate of 155.40. All-rounder Axar Patel featured in 14 matches, contributing 235 runs at a 131.28 strike rate and taking 11 wickets with an economy rate of 24.00.
Tristan Stubbs played all 14 matches, amassing 378 runs at a strike rate of 190.91. Jake Fraser-McGurk, who debuted in 2024, scored 330 runs in nine matches with a remarkable strike rate of 234.04.
Harbhajan Singh on who should DC retain ahead of IPL 2025 Auction Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh shared his views on who Delhi Capitals should retain for the upcoming season and DC’s potential strategy.
| Rishabh Pant IPL batting and fielding stats | |||||||||||||
| YEAR | MATCHES | NO | RUNS | HS | AVG | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4S | 6S | CT | ST |
| Career | 111 | 17 | 3284 | 128* | 35.31 | 2205 | 148.93 | 1 | 18 | 296 | 154 | 75 | 23 |
| 2024 | 13 | 2 | 446 | 88* | 40.55 | 287 | 155.4 | 0 | 3 | 36 | 25 | 11 | 5 |
| 2022 | 14 | 2 | 340 | 44 | 30.91 | 224 | 151.79 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 16 | 8 | 4 |
| 2021 | 16 | 4 | 419 | 58* | 34.91 | 326 | 128.52 | 0 | 3 | 42 | 10 | 10 | 3 |
| 2020 | 14 | 3 | 343 | 56 | 31.18 | 301 | 113.95 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 9 | 13 | 0 |
| 2019 | 16 | 3 | 488 | 78* | 37.53 | 300 | 162.66 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 27 | 18 | 6 |
| 2018 | 14 | 1 | 684 | 128* | 52.61 | 394 | 173.6 | 1 | 5 | 68 | 37 | 4 | 2 |
| 2017 | 14 | 0 | 366 | 97 | 26.14 | 221 | 165.61 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 24 | 8 | 3 |
| 2016 | 10 | 2 | 198 | 69 | 24.75 | 152 | 130.26 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
“We have heard a lot of speculation on whether Rishabh Pant will be retained or not. Time will tell, but if I were part of the management, I would retain him. Rishabh Pant should be retained. Axar Patel should be retained. Stubbs should be retained. And the fourth player to be retained will be Fraser-McGurk. If a fifth player is to be retained, then it could be Mitch Marsh. Apart from that, I think there is no other player that you would want to retain. Out of those five players, I believe Delhi Capitals should retain at least four of them,” Harbhajan said on the Star Sports show.