IPL 2018 | Gambhir to play the rest of IPL for free after quitting captaincy
Gautam Gambhir has decided to play the rest of IPL without taking any wages from Delhi Daredevils. The second most experienced captain IPL history stepped down from his post yesterday, on Wednesday(April 25), after Delhi Daredevils’ continuation of poor performance this season.
Delhi think tank pocketed some good T20 players this season with a seasoned captain like Gautam Gambhir at their helm which made everyone believe, before the start of this year IPL, that Delhi could change its fortunes around this year. However, that has not materialized into results on the field. Adding more misery to the plight, on Wednesday, Delhi skipper Gautam Gambhir renounced from his post, after his team’s poor performance, losing five matches out of six so far.
Gambhir, who had returned to Delhi after spending seven years with Kolkata Knight Riders, had scored just 85 runs in the five matches at an average of 17. Delhi, who are languishing at the bottom of the point table will be led by batsman Shreyas Iyer with from their next match against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 27 at Feroz Shah Kotla.
Delhi Daredevils franchise on Wednesday told PTI that GambhirÂ
"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,"Â franchise said."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," they added.
Earlier, in the media conference Gambhir stated, neither the franchise nor the team management pressurized him to step down, it is a personal call and apart from that he will be available as a player for this season then he will take
“I take full responsibility for the position we are in. And looking at the position, I have decided to step down as captain. Iyer will take over. I still feel we have the team to turn things around this IPL. It was absolutely my decision. The management didn't
"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 added.
Gambhir had led KKR to two IPL trophies in 2012 and 2014. However, the franchise released him ahead of this year's auction because the player wanted to play for his hometown Delhi.
Gautam Gambhir was KKR's leading run-getter with 3345 runs in 122 matches.