Pant rejects Gavaskar's assessment, says did not leave DC due to disagreement over retention fee
New Delhi, Nov 19: Rishabh Pant on Tuesday rejected the legendary Sunil Gavaskar's assessment that the India wicketkeeper-batter left Delhi Capitals due to disagreement over his retention fee ahead of the mega auction of the Indian Premier League.
Pant, who captained Delhi Capitals last year after making a comeback from a horrific car accident, is among the marquee players who were not retained by their franchises. He is expected to be one of the most sought-after players when the auction takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25.
"My retention wasn't about the money for sure that I can say," Pant wrote on X, responding to a broadcaster video showing Gavaskar talking about the auction dynamics.
Gavaskar said while he expects Delhi Capitals to rope in Pant once again, he also wondered if there was a disagreement over the fee between the franchise and the player.
"The auction dynamics are completely different; we don't really know how it will go. But what I feel is that Delhi would certainly want Rishabh Pant back in the squad," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
"Sometimes, when a player is to be retained, there is talk between the franchise and the player and franchise about the fees that are expected."
"As you can see, some of the players who have been retained by the franchise, they've gone for more than say, what the No 1 retention fee deduction would be. Clearly I think, maybe there was some disagreement over there," he said.
Gavaskar said Delhi Capitals will have to look for a new captain as well if Pant is not there in the roster.
"My feeling is that Delhi would definitely want Pant back because they need a captain as well. If Rishabh Pant is not in their squad then they have to look for a new captain. My feeling is (that) Delhi would definitely go for Rishabh Pant," he said.
Pant, along with other former captains Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders) and KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants), is listed at a base price of Rs 2 crore each among marquee Indian players.
Pant has always been a part of the Delhi franchise since his IPL debut in 2016, scoring 3,284 runs at 35.31 with one century and 18 fifties in 111 matches.
My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say 🤍
— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) November 19, 2024
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
