IPL 2025: 'Won't Miss, Seeing Him As An Opponent'- Delhi Capitals Star Abhishek Porel On Rishabh Pant's Absence

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In a major shake-up ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Delhi Capitals (DC) chose not to retain Rishabh Pant, making him available for bidding. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) secured the star wicketkeeper-batter with a record-breaking ₹27 crore bid, making him the most expensive player in IPL history.

During the auction, DC attempted to bring Pant back into their squad using the Right to Match (RTM) card at ₹20.75 crore. However, LSG continued to push the bidding higher, ultimately winning him for ₹27 crore after DC opted out of the race.

With this acquisition, Pant is set to take over the captaincy of LSG, replacing KL Rahul, who has now moved to Delhi Capitals.

With Pant now gone, 22-year-old Abhishek Porel, who was part of the victorious 2022 U-19 World Cup-winning India team, tipped to take up India star's role for the upcoming season.

Reflecting on Rishabh's absence, Porel feels the side won't be missing him much as they have already assembled a compact squad and in the coming days, he will be seeing him as any other opponent.

''Yeah, he is a big cricketer. We tried to get him during the auction, but things didn't pan out. Hopefully, we won't be missing him much this time around as we've assembled a good team. We will be seeing him as an opponent'', Porel told OneIndia during a CAB event on Sunday.

In 18 matches so far for the Capitals, he notched up a total of 360 runs. In 2024, he averaged 32.70, scoring 327 runs, which includes two half-centuries. He grabbed eyeballs with his aggressive play and six-hitting abilities, making him a key member of the team.

Co-incidentally, Delhi will go head-to-head with Lucknow Super Giants in their opening match on 24th March at ACA-VDCA Stadium with Porel locking horns with Pant and both Rishabh and Rahul will be on the opposite side.