IPL Retention 2025: Rishabh Pant and pranks, he knows how to do it best

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So what if Rishabh Pant is not playing serious cricket in the ongoing T20 international series between India and Bangladesh, he still knows how to make news.

On Friday night, the star Indian batter and wicket-keeper put out a cryptic post on X (Twitter) where he asked a question if he would be 'bought' in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction coming up for the 2025 season.

Pant has this habit of creating controversies even when none exist. If you surf the internet, there is a recall of the ICC T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa, where Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller were at the crease. Read More: Will Rishabh Pant be Retained by Delhi Capitals or not?

Pant wanted to break their rhythm and even called the physio out goes the story of June 2024. However, now it comes to light, that the wicketkeeper was not injured and just wanted to break the momentum at that time, something which has been corroborated by winning skipper Rohit Sharma.

So, if Pant can play 'pranks' in a World Cup final, what stops him from creating a social media stir by asking if he will command a good price at the IPL auction? It is well-known, that most of the news about the IPL in the last few weeks is unverified, be it on retentions or what can actually happen when the bids take place.

Pant's tweet would have given a rude shock to the owners of the Delhi Capitals. The Pant who returned to IPL in 2024 and the star in form now are two different versions. What he has done after the against-all-odds comeback has been defining, with the knock in the Chennai Test against Bangladesh even more defining.

All the hype is now on the Delhi hero, with even the Aussies already predicting Pant will be a key factor in the Tests series Down Under, later this year. Back to Pant, what he wants to do in the IPL has created doubts in the minds of many. For all that one knows, this may have been a prank from his social media team as well.

One never gets to know the truth in such matters, though, in terms of retention, Pant would be the first choice for Delhi Capitals. To think of Delhi minus Pant will be bizarre. If his attempt was to set the cat among the pigeons and social media abuzz, he has achieved it.

To be sure, IPL auction stories mostly focus on kite flying. There has been speculation about what will happen to the Mumbai Indians and if Rohit Sharma will leave. That began the moment he lost the captaincy to Hardik Pandya before the 2024 IPL season.

If star players think it is a free market, it is not so easy. They are bound by certain obligations which the common man will never come to know. It is a bit like MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings. There have been so many emotional moments as in the 'last match' for Dhoni. All that turned out to be bogus!

So, back to Pant, everyone knows he is having fun. Today, he enjoys an exalted status in Indian Cricket based on performances. He is invaluable, far beyond prices one hears in auction dynamics. Once the retentions are announced and the actual auction takes place, it will become clear not just Pant, but so many more pranks have been played.