Delhi Daredevils (DD), who is yet to lift the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy is likely to release veteran batsman Gautam Gambhir ahead of the 2019 IPL auctions.
Meanwhile, Gambhir returned to Delhi after a successful stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He led the side to two IPL titles and was one of the main contributors with the bat. Batting at the top-order, he set the tone for Kolkata as the middle-order capitalised on it. However, he returned to his home franchise last year stating that he has unfinished business with Delhi.
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But Gautam Gambhir struggled to produce results as they lost the first five of their opening six games. Failing to produce positive outcomes, Gambhir handed the captaincy role to young Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer. Furthermore, he also struggled to find a spot in the playing XI since then as Delhi rooted for more youngsters.
But Ricky Ponting, head coach of Delhi Daredevils, later noted that Gautam Gambhir himself decided to opt out of the playing XI. But the southpaw denied the statement and revealed that he never dropped himself from the playing XI.
“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.
However, as per reports in Mumbai Mirror, the veteran southpaw is unlikely to find a place in the list of players retained by Delhi Daredevils.
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The release also adds that Australia’s Glenn Maxwell, South Africa’s Chris Morris, and England’s Jason Roy are other players likely to be scraped off.
Delhi roped the services of the former two players for a hefty sum of Rs 9 Crore and 11 Crore respectively, but they failed to live upto the expectation. Morris had to return midway to the tournament due to an injury. Junior Dala, his countrymen, who impressed during the series against India, replaced Morris.
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Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings have already announced the release of three players including Mark Wood. On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders have decided to send Mitchell Starc into the auctions.
