The preparations for the third season of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) is up and running. After the eight franchises named their retentions, the DDCA organised a successful DPL auction. Rishabh Pant, the biggest draw of the league, was supposed to be in the auction after his franchise, Purani Dilli 6 decided to release him.
The press release was headlined by Pant, who was set to feature in the auction for the first time. However, that didn’t prove to be the case as his name never came up. Later, InsideSport got to know that he pulled out of the auction altogether due to his unavailability.
Rishabh Pant to play IND vs SL over DPL
Although the schedule for the DPL 2026 isn’t out, the likely window for the tournament is set from July 31 to August 30. That’s means the tournament will take place in the entire month of August. Coincidentally, India are slated to play two Tests against Sri Lanka in the same month.
The two Tests are likely to take place on August 15 and August 23. That leaves Pant with only first week of August to be available for DPL. So, instead of opting to play just a couple of games, Pant has altogether pulled out of the league, which has been on the up since it’s inception in 2024.
DDCA President Rohan Jaitley echoed the same and said that Pant’s national duty will always supersede local state-level franchise league. With Pant being India’s first choice Test keeper and a formidable batting option, he is a no-brainer in the red ball format. Hence, he has to remain fit and available for the international duty.
“Rishabh Pant has commitments towards international cricket and workload management too. National duty comes first,” Rohan Jaitley said to Sportstak.
Pant still not fully out of DPL
Well, InsideSport has learnt that Pant, if allowed, can turn up for a couple of games. With the Sri Lanka series beginning on August 15, Pant’s only window for DPL is from 1-5 August. So that’s why he wasn’t part of the auction.
However, everything’s not done over Pant. Although he wasn’t part of the auction, he is still pretty much there with Purani Dilli 6. The franchise requested the DDCA to allow them to have two marquee players (max. 2 allowed), with Pant being unavailable. The board allowed it, and thus they retained Lalit Yadav for Rs 10 lac. As their second big signing, the franchise bought Anuj Rawat for Rs 27 lakh. He could lead Purani Dilli as well, with no Pant.
However, InsideSport has exclusively learnt that Pant still awaits a clearance from the Indian management to play DPL in the first week of August. While the chances are quite low, there still remains a probability.
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