‘He will get full freedom from my side’: Patel on Pant’s Delhi Capitals return

Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel welcomed Rishabh Pant back to the franchise following a massive trade with LSG that saw Kuldeep Yadav move the other way. Axar promised Pant absolute operational freedom to play his natural game

New Delhi: Captain Axar Patel has expressed joy at the announcement of senior wicketkeeper batter and his friend Rishabh Pant returning to the Delhi Capitals franchise ahead of IPL 2027 and also assured that the Indian star will get full freedom from his side to perform without pressure.

In a historic trade between Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, Pant, who was bought by LSG at the mega auction ahead of IPL 2025 for a record fee of Rs 27 crore, will return to DC for Rs 15 crore. Kuldeep, meanwhile, will move to LSG for his existing fee of Rs 13.5 crore.

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Delhi Capitals team shared a video of Axar Patel welcoming Pant back to the team while also acknowledging the mutual understanding between the two stalwarts of the franchise.

“When he was here before, he was my captain, and he was leading me. At that time, we didn’t have anything like ‘I am the captain, I will tell you this and that’. We used to work in mutual understanding. He knows that he is a senior player, and I know that I am a senior player. We had a mutual understanding of what he can do best in a particular situation and what he can’t,” Patel said in the video.

“As a friend and as a captain, I will tell him that he knows that he doesn’t have any extra pressure from me or from the franchise. This is his own house; he has played here for many years. Delhi is his home, so I don’t have to say much to him. I just know that he will get full freedom as a captain from my side,” he added.

Concluding his message, Patel said, “Just enjoy yourself. Enjoy your character. Form is temporary, class is permanent. You are a player of that category. You have full freedom from our side. Just play your game and enjoy. This will be the message for him.”

Pant had spent nine seasons between 2016 and 2024 with DC, making 111 appearances, the most by any player for DC. One of the franchise’s defining faces for nearly a decade, he also captained the side in 43 matches across four seasons from 2021 to 2024.

On the other hand, Kuldeep, who spent five seasons at DC, has claimed 72 wickets in 65 matches and established himself as one of the most effective wicket-taking bowlers in the tournament.

Pant had a turbulent time with LSG, who finished at the bottom of the points table in IPL 2026, following their seventh-place finish in IPL 2025. Even before the IPL 2026 season ended, Pant stepped down as LSG’s captain, and the franchise accepted the decision. Pant’s stint at LSG lasted two seasons – as captain, he managed 10 wins and faced 18 defeats.