IPL 2018: Gautam Gambhir Decides to Forego Entire Rs 2.8 Crore Salary

In a first of its kind, Gautam Gambhir has decided not to take his salary from Delhi Daredevils for the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League.

The latest news comes moments after the southpaw sensationally stepped down as the captain of the team.

Under Gambhir’s captaincy, the Daredevils are languishing at the bottom of the points table. In six games, the Daredevils won just one and are fast running out of time to save their season. The franchise has replaced Gambhir with Shreyas Iyer for the remainder of the season.

Also Read: IPL 2018: Twitter Reacts as Gautam Gambhir Steps Down from Captaincy

Gambhir’s performance with the bat has been equally poor. In six matches, he has scored only 85 runs despite scoring a fifty in the season-opener.

With the team’s fortunes not showing any sign of improvement, Gambhir finally decided to take the huge step. Speaking after stepping down, Gambhir took the responsibility upon himself for the team’s poor start. He is also hopeful that the team can turn things around in the coming days.

“I take full responsibility for the position we are in. And looking at the position, I have decided to step down as captain. Shreyas Iyer will take over. I still feel we have the team to turn things around this,” he said.

And soon after that, he decided to forego his salary which would have seen him pocked a whopping amount of INR 2 crore 80 lakhs.

It is possibly the first time that an IPL captain has decided to forego his salary because of the team’s dismal performance.

“Gautam has decided that he won’t take any salary from the franchise for the season. He will play remaining part of IPL for the Delhi Daredevils for free,” a source told PTI.

“Gautam is someone who puts pride above everything else. He has been a proud performer. He doesn’t want to take any money, and it’s a very personal call. In fact, he wanted to quit just after the KXIP game,” the source added.

Meanwhile, Gambhir said he would take a call on his future only after the IPL gets over.

“I don’t know; it’s too early for me to decide on that. Let me sit down and decide. I have to think where my game goes and I go as an individual,” Gambhir said during a media interaction.

Before leading Delhi this season, Gambhir had led Kolkata Knight Riders for the last seven seasons. With his previous franchise, he had enjoyed unprecedented success.

Under Gambhir’s captaincy, the Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs and also made it to the Champions League Twenty20 for the first time. He led the side to their first title in 2012 by defeating defending 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 leagues.

Also Read: IPL 2018: 5 Reasons Why Gautam Gambhir Stepped Down as Delhi Daredevils Captain