Captain of Delhi Capitals Axar Patel provided a warm and witty welcome Rishabh Pant after the star wicketkeeper-batter completed a sensational return to the franchise in a major IPL trade deal.The deal saw Rishabh Pant leave Lucknow Super Giants and return to his original IPL home, Delhi Capitals, for Rs 15 crore, while the Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav moved in the opposite direction from LSG for 13.5 million rupees.Following the high-profile trade, Delhi Capitals shared a video on social media where Axar Patel revealed his first conversation with Pant after the deal was finalized. According to Axar, Pant tried to call him multiple times to break the news, but the DC captain initially missed the calls as he was spending time with his child.When Axar finally called, an excited Pant immediately confirmed the move, saying, “Confirm ho gaya bhai, main wapas aa raha hoon” (It’s confirmed bro, I’m back). Axar then revealed that there was one thought he wanted to share with Pant, but he couldn’t say during the phone call. In the video, he jokingly welcomed Pant with a famous Hindi proverb:“Subah ka bhula agar shaam ko ghar wapas aa jaye toh use bhula nahi kehte.”(If someone who loses his way returns home in the morning by evening, he is not considered lost.)Pant bought Lucknow Super Giants for a record Rs 27 crore in the previous mega auction. However, after a mixed campaign and changing team strategies, both franchises agreed to outright swap players ahead of the 2027 IPL season. During his first stint with the Delhi Capitals from 2016 to 2024, Pant amassed 3,284 runs in nine seasons, making him the franchise’s all-time leading run-scorer and one of its most beloved players. While in two years with Lucknow Super Giants, Pant scored 581 runs in his two seasons (2025 – 2026). Rishabh Pant led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to 10 wins and 18 losses in 28 matches as captain, finishing with a win percentage of 35.71%.
