It will be Delhi Capitals, not Daredevils from IPL 2019

South Africans top list of overseas players

After drawing a blank in the past 11 editions of Indian Premier League (IPL), Delhi Daredevils have decided to take a fresh guard for the 2019 season. The Delhi franchise will be henceforth called Delhi Capitals as the team management unveiled the new name, crest and colours on Tuesday in the Indian capital.

It’s been a rough ride for the Delhi outfit, co-owned by GMR Holdings and JSW Sports, who have failed to show a turnaround in their performance over the first decade. Their best showing so far had been two semifinal appearances in the first two seasons (2008-2009) and a place in the play-offs last in 2012.

“I have been through a lot of ups and downs in my time as a cricketer, and have realised how important it is to sometimes take a step back and start afresh,” Ricky Ponting, former Australian captain and head coach of Delhi said at the launch.

The team traded in Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan from Sunrisers Hyderabad, who will be captaining the side.

Changing names of franchises — to bring about a change in fortunes — have been nothing new though in the history of IPL. ‘Rising Pune Supergiants,’ who featured in two editions, had changed their name to ‘Rising Pune Supergiant’ and saw a dramatic change in their performance.

Meanwhile, a total of 232 overseas players in a total of 1,003 players have been registered for the players’ auction for Season XII, coming up in Jaipur on December 18. South Africans figure on top of the list with 59 players, followed by Australia (35) and West Indies (33).

An impressive number of 27 Afghanistan players are in the fray.