Gautam Gambhir Steps Down as Delhi Daredevils Captain

IPL 2018 Gautam Gambhir steps down as Captain of Delhi Daredevils, Shreyas Iyer to take over.

Gautam Gambhir returned to Delhi Daredevils this season after a very successful stint at Kolkata Knight Riders.

(Photo: BCCI)

Delhi Daredevils have lost five matches already this season and as of Wednesday, they’ve lost a captain as well.

Gautam Gambhir has announced his decision to step down as the team’s skipper in a hurried press conference called by the franchise at their home ground, Ferozshah Kotla.

Gambhir also named Shreyas Iyer as his replacement, with the team needing a massive turnaround to stand any chance of making it to the playoffs this season.

Sitting beside Gambhir during the press meet were Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua, coach Ricky Ponting and new skipper Shreyas Iyer.

As a leader of this ship, I take completely responsibility for where we are in the points table. Seeing where we are placed, I have decided to step down and name Shreyas Iyer as the next captain. I think that is the way forward. We all feel he is going to do a good job and he is the right guy to take this team forward. We need to win seven out of the next eight matches and it is absolutely possible in this format.

Gautam Gambhir

IPL 2018: Delhi Daredevils have lost five out of their six matches this season.(Photo: BCCI)

The southpaw insisted that he was not pressured to quit and that it was his own decision.

It is solely my decision and there was no pressure from the franchise. As I said, my performance was not upto the mark and I just could not handle the pressure. That could be one reason (for stepping down). I was 28 when I joined KKR and today I am 36. Maybe I could handle pressure better then.

Gautam Gambhir

Delhi Daredevils currently occupy the bottom place in the IPL standings, having lost five out of their six matches so far this season. The former skipper, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to two titles before moving back to Delhi this year, has also not been able to hit form, posting scores of 55, 15, 8, 3 and 4.

The bell started ringing after the last game (against KXIP at Kotla) and it was time to take the call. My own performance has not been upto the mark. Maybe I was too desperate to turn things around and that can backfire. I just couldn’t handle the pressure and when you don’t do that, you have to own that up as a leader. I was sitting alone and thinking I couldn’t handle the pressure... I was not good enough and that is all.

Gautam Gambhir

While saying he made the decision to step down because he could not handle the pressures of the job, Gambhir added that he would continue to play for the team. The team’s CEO Hemant Dua in fact added that Gambhir would now take over the role of a player-mentor in the team, helping Iyer along the way as well.

The 23-year-old Iyer is a top-order batsman and has scored two back-to-back half centuries in losing causes.

I am ready for the new challenge. I want to thank the management and my coaches for appointing me as the captain of the team. It is a great honour for me.

Shreyas Iyer

Towards the end of the conference, Gambhir was asked about his future as a player.

"I have not thought about it yet. We are in the middle of the competition. We still have a good chance of making the play-offs. We need to be thinking about that rather than my future," Gambhir added.

Daredevils CEO Dua also faced questions over his future with a team that has under-achieved over the last 11 seasons.

"If that helps the team, I will happily do it," he snapped back when questions were asked about his tenure.

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