Delhi Chief Selector, Atul Wassan Reveals How He Got Gautam Gambhir & KP Bhaskar On Same Page

The last season ended on a torrid note for Delhi when they failed to qualify for the next round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The things had already become worse when Rishab Pant replaced Gautam Gambhir as the captain before the start of the tournament and a tussle between KP Bhaskar and Gambhir at the end added to it.

Later, Gambhir was also banned for four first-class games, but the ban was revoked later with a warning. In no case, DDCA could have re-appointed KP Bhaskar for the 2017/18 season, but it was the case, which came as a big surprise, keeping in mind the way previous season ended.

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Someone had to step up to solve the issue between the coach and former captain to carry the team forward, and it was Chief Selector, Atul Wassan, who talked with these two,

“OK, we don’t want you to get married or get along but there is a common cause that is to win, so we need to find a way to keep our personal prejudices aside. We wanted to clear the air. I took the initiative to bring them on the same page or find a common ground,” Wassan told Indian express.

Since Rishab Pant was only in his third first-class season, it was difficult for team management to give the captaincy to him right from the start and the issue was solved when Ishant Sharma was available for few games. Later though, Rishab had to lead the team because of the poor form of Vice-captain, Milind Kumar.

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The selectors took some strong decisions. The team has qualified to this stage riding on the success of youngsters and newcomers. Players like  Milind, Unmukt Chand, had to make way for them, which was one of the strongest calls. It is to be noted that Chand led the Ranji team in the last season in two games when Gambhir was on national duty.

Due to the steps were taken by Wassan, the team is reaping fruits and is up against Bengal in the semifinal, with whom the team does not have a good rapport.

The last time when these two teams faced each other, it made highlight due to a tussle between skipper Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary. It was also the debut first-class game for the current Delhi skipper, Rishab Pant.

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