Parth Jindal of DC clarifies captaincy speculation amid Rishabh Pant departure: 'He aspires to lead India'

In a recent statement, Delhi Capitals (DC) co-owner Parth Jindal clarified that captaincy was not the reason behind the franchise's decision to part ways with Rishabh Pant before the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah. Pant was subsequently picked up by Lucknow Super Giants for a whopping INR 27 crore, making him the highest-priced player in IPL history. Jindal addressed any speculation surrounding the captaincy issue and emphasized that it was not a factor in Pant's departure from DC.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Jindal admitted it was a difference in philosophy that led to Pant deciding to leave Delhi Capitals, where he spent nine seasons, leading the franchise in three of them. The managing director of JSW Cements, once again, clarified that money was not the issue, as did Pant in his recent viral tweet in response to a speculation made by India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar on reasons behind him leaving the franchise.

He said: “It was just a different philosophy of how he wanted the franchise to operate and how we--the owners--wanted the franchise to operate. That is what caused it. It has nothing to do with money. Money has never been an issue for Rishabh, and money's never been an issue for us. I guess the three of us (Kiran 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.”

Jindal said that the split was "devasting" for him. "I love the boy like my own brother. He took a call at the end of the day. We tried our best. He made the decision, and we have to respect it," he added.

However, he admitted that the much-speculated captaincy reason was not why Pant left Delhi Capitals. Jindal revealed that the management had given him a feedback on his captaincy and how he could improve after he made it clear that his goal is to lead the Indian cricket team.

"We gave him some feedback regarding leadership. We suggested ways he could improve, but we were quite clear about his ambitions. We know where he wants to go. He has made it amply clear that his dream and desire is to captain India, and that starts with captaining an IPL team," he concluded.

Pant, who was named among the prospects to replace Rohit Sharma as a captain when the latter was announced as the all-format India skipper two years back, has led India in five T20I matches, in 2022, which had ended in a 2-2 draw.