Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will not lead the Delhi Capitals in the upcoming 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League.

Delhi could be looking for a new captain, and all-rounder Axar Patel is also in line to succeed Pant, who was appointed as the team’s captain in 2021.

“Pant, though, is set to be the franchise’s top retention. It’s just that the leadership group at DC feels that he’s better off without the pressures of captaincy,” the source added.

Pant has been associated with DC in the IPL since 2016. He is the most capped player in IPL history for the franchise and also holds the record for scoring most runs for them in the cash-rich league.

Pant was appointed as DC’s captain in 2021 after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury he suffered while playing for India in the white-ball series against England in March 2022.

In Pant’s first season as captain, the Delhi Capitals topped the points table but failed to qualify for the final after losing both the qualifier matches against the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Pant was retained for Rs 16 crore by DC ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auctions, and he led the franchise in the 2022 edition, where Delhi finished fifth in the points table.

He was back as Delhi Capitals captain in IPL 2024 and finished as the leading run scorer, but the team once again failed to qualify for the playoffs.

It has been reported that Delhi would like to bring back Shreyas Iyer if he is released by KKR ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Iyer led Delhi to the IPL final in 2020, and in 2024 he won the cash-rich league title as captain of KKR.