Pant, Ishant pull out of DPL despite DDCA announcement

Brushing aside internal objections to the inclusion of “outsider” cricketers in the T20 Delhi Premier League (DPL) auction, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) allowed all eligible applicants into the player pool.

Among the players who were opposed within the DDCA included off-spinning all-rounder Lalit Yadav, left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya, left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar, woman batter Pratika Rawal, and batsman Vaibhav Kandpal.

Purani Dilli6 retained Yadav. The DDCA’s official list of retained players (along with their amounts) showed Rishabh Pant was retained by Purani Dilli6 among the seven players, for Rs 21 lakh. But DPL’s official X post on the retained players did not have Pant’s photo. This tweet contained Lalit Yadav’s name, instead of Pant.

DDCA sources said that Pant and pacer Ishant Sharma have withdrawn from the DPL. Notably, the DDCA’s official auction press release was put out on the evening of June 30, with this header: ‘Rishabh Pant, Pratika Rawal headline DPL Season 3 auction as over 600 players set to go under the hammer’. The DDCA chose not to issue an updated media statement.

“Rishabh and Ishant have withdrawn, with their unavailability being cited as a reason. Money could be a factor, or maybe something else. The fact is that he has already taken a massive cut, reportedly around Rs 12 crore, by moving from Lucknow Super Giants to Delhi Capitals for the 2027 IPL. He still is the IPL history’s most expensive player at 27 crore, spent on him by LSG a few seasons ago,” a source told Patriot.

Khejroliya went to West Delhi Lions for Rs 9 lakh while North Delhi Strikers retained Kandpal. Bidding for Dagar and Pratika had not begun at the time of going to the press.

Rs 40 lakh for Tejasvi

At the auction, wicketkeeper-batsman Tejasvi Dahiya, who was the seventh highest scorer with 339 runs scored at a strike-rate of 190.45 for South Delhi Superstarz in the 2025 DPL, was grabbed by his franchise for Rs 40 lakh using the Right to Match (RTM) card.

Himmat Singh, a former Delhi Ranji Trophy captain, placed in the marquee category with a base price of Rs 10 lakh, was retained by the New Delhi Tigers for Rs 38 lakh, also using the RTM card.

A marquee player who went unsold in the opening round was leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi, who was bought by South Delhi Superstarz for Rs 38 last season. Purani Dilli6 bought him for Rs 11 lakh after intense bidding in the second round.

Also Read: T20 DPL draws ‘outsider’ cricketers back to Delhi fold

The contrast difference between the red ball/multi-day and the white ball formats was starkly visible in the case of the prolific left-handed batsman, Sanat Sangwan, who was the overall third-highest scorer in the Ranji Trophy with 828 runs last season. Having represented Outer Delhi Warriors last season, South Delhi Superstarz bought him at his base price of Rs 5 lakh.

At the time of going to press, the women’s auction had not started.