Shreyas steps up for struggling Daredevils

Shreyas Iyer will lead Delhi Daredevils for the first time when his side host Kolkata Knight Riders at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium today.

The middle-order batsman was appointed captain after Gautam Gambhir announced he was stepping down. Delhi are bottom of the Indian Premier League table, having won just one out of their six games.

The Daredevils have won just 63 of their 152 games since the league was inaugurated in 2008. They have also reached the play-offs just three times in the tournament’s 10-year history.

“Maybe the only thing I can point to is, I was too desperate to turn things around,” Gambhir said. “And at times it can backfire as well because sometimes you are too keen and it makes you too hard on yourself.

“Sometimes you realise that maybe I just couldn’t handle the pressure that came with the position, the responsibility I was given.”

Gambhir’s call won him praise from coach Ricky Ponting and chief executive Hemant Dua.

On his part, Shreyas said he loved a challenge and that the responsibility of taking over the reins of a team in distress was another one of those tests.

The 23-year-old Indian player’s first task will be to find a way to get Gambhir, relieved of the burden of captaincy, and Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell back in form. Their struggles with the bat have been at the core of Delhi’s inability to win in 2018.

In yesterday’s match, Sunrisers Hyderabad climbed up to second in the table, replacing their opponents Kings XI Punjab, thanks to a 13-run win at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Manish Pandey (54) topscored with the bat as Hyderabad set Punjab a target of 133 for victory.

Rashid Khan was the pick of the Hyderabad bowlers once again, with the Afganistan spinner claiming three wickets for the loss of just 19 runs in his four overs as Punjab were bowled out for 119.

Opener Lokesh Rahul (32) was Punjab’s top-scorer with the bat.