Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has advised Rishabh Pant not to captain Delhi Capitals in IPL 2027. Jaffer believes that Pant should focus more on his batting than captaincy at this time. Also, he should focus on improving his form to make a comeback in the Indian T20 and ODI team. Rishabh Pant is returning to Delhi Capitals after spending two seasons with Lucknow Super Giants. He joined the Lucknow team before the 2025 season. Now he has returned to Delhi through trade. In this deal, Pant’s price was estimated at Rs 15 crore, while Kuldeep Yadav was sent to Lucknow at a price of Rs 13.50 crore. Jaffer says that being a wicketkeeper and a batsman, Pant already has a lot of responsibilities.

Jaffer said on his YouTube channel that if Delhi Capitals offers Pant the captaincy, he should refuse it. According to him, with captaincy the pressure of expectations from the owners, fans and the team increases. Apart from this, Pant also has to pay attention to wicketkeeping and batting. Giving the example of KL Rahul, Jaffer said that he is enjoying his game as a player without captaincy. Pant can also do this.

Pant’s first priority should be to return to Team India.

Wasim Jaffer believes that Pant’s biggest need at this time is to regain his old batting form. After this, he should try to make a comeback in the Indian T20 and ODI team by performing well in the IPL. Jaffer said that Pant is not currently a part of India’s leadership group. In such a situation, captaincy should not be a priority for him.

Big question of captaincy in front of Delhi

Delhi Capitals made Akshar Patel the captain in IPL 2026. The team finished sixth with seven wins in 14 matches. Despite captaining Lucknow Super Giants, Pant could not take the team to the playoffs for two consecutive seasons. Now after the arrival of Sourav Ganguly as the new coach, Delhi will have to take a big decision on captaincy. However, Jaffer is confident that Pant can perform more effectively by staying away from the pressure of captaincy.