The rumours of Rishabh Pant donning the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) jersey in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) got a major boost after former India cricketer Suresh Raina dropped a major hint on the retention day. Pant, who led Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024, didn’t have a great time during the negotiations with the franchise and was eventually released on Thursday.
Certainly the dashing wicketkeeper-batter will fetch a huge amount in the mega auction which is likely to be held at the end of November in Saudi Arabia. Raina, a former CSK stalwart, indicated Pant’s move to the five-time champions.
“I met MS Dhoni in Delhi, Pant was also there. Someone will be wearing a yellow jersey soon (big smile),” Raina revealed on JioCinema. With MS Dhoni entering the twilight of his career, the former captain and the franchise collectively want a smooth transition under the 43-year-old.
Pant enjoys a cordial relationship with Dhoni. During the time when Pant was out of cricketing action, following a major car accident, the southpaw was often pictured with the Dhoni family on vacations.
Meanwhile, Dhoni was among the five retentions made by CSK on Thursday. The five-time IPL-winning captain was retained in the uncapped category as his last international match came five years ago.
Ruturaj Gaikwad ( ₹18 crore), Matheesha Pathirana ( ₹13 crore), Shivam Dube ( ₹12 crore) and Ravindra Jadeja ( ₹18 crore) are the other retentions made by CSK. Dhoni was retained at ₹4 crore.
The 27-year-old made a heroic comeback after a horrific car accident on December 2022. The wicketkeeper-batter underwent a ligament operation in his leg, did his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy for 14 months before returning to cricket with Delhi Capitals in the previous IPL season.
With 446 runs under his belt from 14 matches, Pant made his way to the Indian team in the T20 World Cup and played a crucial part in Men in Blue's title-winning campaign.
