IPL 2017: Delhi Daredevils keen on retaining Rishabh Pant for the coming seasons

What’s the story?

Rishabh Pant has impressed one and all with his performances in this year’s IPL. And unsurprisingly, his team, the Delhi Daredevils, are keen on holding on to him for the coming seasons.

According to a report in the Times of India, Rahul Dravid and his coaching staff have told the Delhi management that Pant should be a must in the coming seasons. "The coaching panel has made it clear to the Delhi management that Pant should be the top choice for the team in future," a source was quoted by TOI.

In case you didn’t know…

Pant, albeit a bit inconsistent, has helped his team win a couple of tight encounters almost singlehandedly. The 19-year-old aggressor has scored 366 runs in 14 matches, with a highest score of 97 and strike rate of an incredible 165.61.

During the initial stages, he was not given enough opportunities as he was coming down the order. However, once he was promoted to number three, his true potential was on display. He has also been dependable behind the stumps, having pulled off some stunners. Because of his performances, Pant was recently named as one of the backup players in India’s Champions Trophy squad.

The heart of the matter

The Delhi Daredevils have let go of some of their most promising and talented players in the past and they are keen on not repeating that mistake. In 2008, they had let a young Virat Kohli join the Royal Challengers Bangalore, instead opting to pick up Pradeep Sangwan from the Indian U19 contingent. Thereafter, they had let the likes of David Warner, AB de Villiers and Gautam Gambhir join other teams.

With Pant, though, they should be extra cautious. Previously, Dravid, who is the mentor of the Delhi team, had heaped praise on Pant. However, he did not make any public statements regarding his future with the team.

What’s next?

It is not certain if the IPL governing council will allow teams to retain any of their players for the next season. It has been reported that they are eager to have all the players up for auction. However, several teams have asked for a right to match card that would allow them to retain players at the auction and the Delhi management have been advised to make Pant their top player at the auction.

Author’s take

Pant has been one of the most talked about players in this year’s IPL. With injuries to key players like Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy before the start of the tournament, many had opined that Delhi’s inexperienced batting was their weakness. However, the likes of Pant, Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer have proved to be quite capable.

It is only natural that a team would want to retain its best players. Moreover, Pant being a Delhi lad, the Daredevils would want to keep hold of him at all costs.