‘More excited than ever’ Gambhir to lead Daredevils
NEWDELHI: Gautam Gambhir was on Wednesday appointed as the captain of Delhi Daredevils for this Indian Premier League.
Gautam Gambhir will be in his second stint with the Delhi Daredevils after exiting the two-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the 2018 IPL auction. Gambhir had joined KKR in 2011 and went on to win Indian Premier League titles in 2012 and 2014 as captain.
The 36-year-old former Indian left-hander was bought by the Delhi Daredevils (DD) for ~ 2.8 crore, and in a media event on Wednesday the left-handed batsman was revealed as the franchise’s choice for captaincy. “I am more excited than I have ever been,” said Gambhir.
Amid all the speculations that the Indian international would be bought back by the Kolkata Knight Riders using their ‘Right to Match’ card, the franchise simply snubbed their skipper.
Gautam Gambhir was part of the Delhi Daredevils franchise for the first three seasons before KKR smashed the record books to sign him up for $2.5 million in 2011. Delhi have roped in Ricky Ponting as their head coach and brought Gambhir back into their roster. Last year in April, Gautam Gambhir had expressed his wish to finish with the Daredevils.
“I think my heart is still with Delhi. I played for three years for Delhi (Daredevils). Somewhere, deep within my heart, I’d love to finish with Delhi,” he said.