Rishabh Pant declines Delhi captaincy in Ranji Trophy, know the reason

The second round of Ranji Trophy 2024-25 will start on January 23, in which many star players of Team India will also be seen playing for their state team. One name in this is also of star wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who will play for Delhi team in the match against Saurashtra at Rajkot ground. Meanwhile, Pant also got the offer of the captaincy of the Delhi Ranji team but he refused to take up this responsibility. Delhi Cricket Association has not yet announced the team for the next round but Pant's name is sure to be included in it.

Rishabh Pant, who has given his consent to play in the match against Saurashtra, will now take the field to play a match in the Ranji Trophy for the first time after the year 2018. According to the Cricbuzz report, the wicketkeeper-batsman refused to lead the team, while now the Delhi Cricket Association's selection committee, headed by Gursharan Singh, can decide to hand over the captaincy responsibility to Ayush Badoni for the second round of the Ranji Trophy.

A major reason behind Pant's decision not to captain is believed to be that he will not be able to play matches continuously, in his inclusion in the squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 is also considered almost certain. The Delhi team is currently joint second in Group D in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 with 19 points.

A source in the Delhi Cricket Association told Cricbuzz in his statement that Pant was offered the captaincy but he refused it and said that it would not be right to return to the team as a captain. Pant believes that entry as a captain can upset the balance of the team. He expressed his full confidence in the current captain and team coach Sarandeep Singh.

If we look at Pant's first-class cricket record, he has scored 4868 runs in 68 matches at an average of 46.36, which includes 11 centuries and 24 half-century innings.