Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant (BCCI/IPL Photo)

New Delhi: Rishabh PantThe return to Delhi Capitals has been one of the biggest moves ahead of the new IPL 2027 season, and the DC captain Akshar Patel It has already been made clear that the wicketkeeper-batsman will have complete freedom upon rejoining the franchise.Pant returned to Delhi Capitals in a high-profile trade completed on Tuesday. The move forced Pant, as a spinner, to return to his former franchise for Rs 15 crore. -Kuldeep Yadav Moved to Lucknow Super Giants. Pant joined LSG for a record Rs 27 crore ahead of IPL 2025, but he endured two disappointing seasons with the franchise.In a video shared by Delhi Capitals, Axar talked about his relationship with Pant and insisted that there will be no added pressure on the former DC skipper.“All I know is that as a captain, he will get complete freedom from me. Our relationship has never been that of a captain and a player. When he was here, he was my captain too and he was leading me during our time. There will never be a feeling between us that I am the captain and whatever I say has to be done. We always work with mutual understanding.Akshar said that both the players understand each other’s roles and responsibilities, having spent many years together in the franchise.“He also knows that he is a senior player. I also know that I am a senior player. There has always been this mutual understanding between us about what he can and cannot do in any given situation. (He knows that he is a senior player, and I knew that I was also a senior player. We have always had a mutual understanding about what he can do and what he cannot do in a particular situation),” he said.Pant is returning to the team where he played 111 matches between 2016 and 2024. He also captained Delhi Capitals from 2021 to 2024 and remains one of the most popular players of the franchise.Akshar believes that Delhi is Pant’s home and said that neither he nor the franchise expects anything extra from the star batsman.“And as a friend and captain, I would just like to tell him that there is no extra pressure on him. Neither from my side nor from the franchise’s side. This is his home. He has played here before and has played for many years.” Delhi is his home (and as a friend and captain, I would just like to tell him that there is no extra pressure on him. Not from my side and not from the franchise’s side either. This is his home. He has played here before and has spent many years with this team.) Delhi is his home),” he said.Pant had a tough time with Lucknow Super Giants. Under his captaincy, LSG finished seventh in IPL 2025 before finishing bottom of the table in IPL 2026. With the bat, Pant scored 269 runs in 2025 and followed it up with 312 runs and a half-century in 2026.Despite this, Axar endorsed Pant’s quality and reminded him that class never disappears.“So I don’t need to say much. All I know is that he will get complete freedom from me as captain. Just enjoy yourself. Enjoy your natural character and style. Form and other things are temporary, but class is permanent. And you are a player of that category. You have complete freedom from our side. Just play your game and enjoy. That’s where my message to him will be (so I don’t really need to tell him much). I just know that as captain he will have complete freedom from me. Just enjoy yourself. Enjoy playing in the way that comes naturally to you. Form and everything else is temporary, but class is permanent. And you are that kind of player. You have complete freedom from our side. Just play your game and enjoy. This will be my message to them),” Akshar said.