NEW DELHI: Former South African skipper AB De Villiers feels that Royal Challengers Bangalore are unlikely go after swashbuckling Rishabh Pant in the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction.
Expressing his doubts over RCB's chances of securing Pant's services, De Villiers said that the India keeper-batter will be in high demand at the auction and will come with a massive price tag.
The IPL franchises last month revealed their retained players lists and Pant, who had been with the Delhi Capitals (DC) since 2016, was released.
"I think it is incredibly unlikely that RCB will get hold of Rishabh Pant, I think he will be too expensive and all the franchises are going to go for him in the auction. I do feel Punjab Kings spend whatever they can to get him, that's my personal feeling. It's my gut feeling, I feel there is a very tight connection between him and Ricky Ponting. I think we are going to see him at Punjab Kings," said De Villiers on his YouTube channel.
"We'll see what happens, if not, it would be great if RCB can have Rishabh, but I just think, he is going to be too expensive. I want RCB's focus to be on the bowling department, a world-class spinner and also some local players. Want some Bengaluru players in there, I have heard Anil Kumble say it before that they don't keep their local players, quality talented local players," he added.
Pant's journey with Delhi Capitals saw him amass 3,284 runs in 111 matches at an impressive average of 148.93. Pant hit a century, 17 fifties during his stint at the franchise, making him their all-time leading run-scorer.
Under Pant's captaincy, DC reached the playoffs in 2021 but couldn't replicate the success in subsequent seasons (2022 and 2024).
In the most recent season, Pant made a strong comeback after an injury, scoring 446 runs in 13 matches.
Despite Pant's impressive performance, DC missed out on a playoff spot, finishing sixth with seven wins and seven losses (14 points).
DC retained Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs and Abishek Porel ahead of the mega auction.
RCB, on the other hand, chose to retain Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal.
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