Delhi Daredevils now Delhi Capitals
NEW DELHI: One of the original teams when the Indian Premier League was launched a decade ago, the Delhi franchise is still waiting for a first title. Although the high-profile Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by India skipper Virat Kohli, have also not managed to lift the trophy, Delhi have struggled to be in contention even for playoffs.
As they approach the 12th season on a sober note after finishing at the bottom of the eight-team table in 2018, a cry for change was apparent. In a major revamp, Delhi Daredevils were renamed Delhi Capitals at a function on Tuesday. JSW Sports, equal partners after gaining 50 percent stake, will take over administration. GMR, the original owners, who still hold the other half, will take a backseat for at least two years, it was announced.
At the launch attended by both co-owners, Parth Jindal of JSW Sports was announced as chairman of Delhi Capitals with GMR’S Kiran Kumar Grandhi happy to cede the responsibility of running the team. A new logo and crest were also launched. It features three tigers in an idea drawn from the national emblem featuring four lions with the parliament dome on top, with a shield as the background.
Jindal and Kumar acknowledged that the Delhi franchise had not performed at expected levels and hoped a fresh approach would help deliver a victory as
When you look at IPL, its new commercial deal, teams are making incredible amounts of money. It is very profitable. PARTH JINDAL, JSW sports head
well as connect better with the fans. Both acknowledged that the dynamics of player auctions, injuries and the thin margin characteristic of T20 cricket all had not been kind to Delhi.
Kiran Kumar said: “We agreed to the new journey, to bring in new energy as well as learn from the last 11 years.” Delhi Capitals will pin their hope on the youth power of wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw, besides retaining Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting as skipper and coach respectively. They believe acquiring Shikhar Dhawan from Sunrisers Hyderabad in a swap deal will infuse extra experience in top-order batting.