After finishing in the lower half of the table for the last five seasons, Delhi Daredevils are reportedly looking to rope in former Australia player Jason Gillespie as their head coach for the next season of the Indian Premier League.
After semifinal appearances in the first two seasons and making it to the playoffs in 2012, the capital-based outfit ended at the bottom of the table twice while finishing at 7th, 6th and sixth in the last three seasons of the eight-team tournament.
Former India skipper Rahul Dravid was their mentor in the last two seasons, but with the legendary batsman opting to continue as coach of the India under-19 and A teams, he has ended his association with the franchise to avoid a conflict of interest.
Consequently, the Daredevils is on a lookout for a new coach and as per a report in The Indian Express, the franchise is mulling over appointing Gillespie as the head coach. The 42-year-old ended his association with Yorkshire in 2016 and is currently part of Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League. The news outlet also claimed Gillespie himself had shown interest in being part of an IPL team a few months ago.
Gillespie has been part of the IPL in the past, after having been roped in as the bowling coach for Kings XI Punjab in 2011. Sources at the Delhi franchise, meanwhile, confirmed that talks are indeed on, but nothing is finalised yet.
“He brings a lot to the table. He has vast experience behind him. He has shown keenness to be a part of Delhi team and talks are still on,” a Delhi Daredevils official was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
Part of the Australian team that won a Test series in India in 2004, Gillespie represented Australia in 71 Tests and 97 ODIs, taking 259 and 142 wickets, respectively. He also had an excellent track record as a coach, having lifted Yorkshire from the second division in his first county season before helping them win back-to-back County Championship titles in 2014 and 2015.