Delhi Daredevils Set To Part Ways With Gautam Gambhir: Report
Delhi Daredevils are likely to release their former skipper Gautam Gambhir ahead of the upcoming auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL).
Gambhir’s return to his first Indian IPL team Delhi Daredevils did not pan out on expected notes. He played with the franchise for the first three seasons before being signed up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2011.
The Knight Riders paid a whopping amount of $2.4 million – to secure Gambhir’s services in 2011.
Southpaw Gambhir went on to justify the franchise’s decision with his consistent performances. Under Gambhir’s captaincy, the Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs and also made it to the Champions League Twenty20 (now scrapped), for the first time in 2011.
Gambhir eventually led the side to their first title in 2012 by beating former champions Chennai Super Kings. Two years later, he led the team to their second title, making the Knight Riders one of the most successful teams in the league.
His performance with the bat was equally impressive. He was the batting mainstay of the side since joining the side.
In the seven seasons, he scored 3,035 runs with the help of 27 half-centuries for the Riders.
And expectations were high that he would do wonders with Daredevils too. However, things did not go down well under Gambhir.
In six games, the Daredevils won just one match. Gambhir also failed to lead his side from the front, scoring just 85 runs in those six games.
And he did not play any game for the rest of the season. Rumours had suggested that Gambhir had himself decided to drop him from the playing eleven.
However, the veteran batsman had later quashed the rumours.
“I never dropped myself from the playing XI. If that was the case, then I would’ve announced the retirement as well. A lot of cricket is still left in me,” he had told ABP news.
Meanwhile, Delhi Daredevils seem to be not interested in retaining his services. As per a report in The Mumbai Mirror, Gambhir is in the possible drop list of the franchise ahead of the auction. The report further claimed that the the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Chris Morris and Jason Roy could also be released.
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Gautam Gambhir
