Gautam Gambhir likely to lead the team, says DD coach Ricky Ponting

Delhi are en route to reconstruct their squad once again as they remain one of the most explosive sides in the mega-auction so far. Barring the three retentions of Chris Morris, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, the Daredevils have mostly gone for big, proven names in the IPL like Glenn Maxwell, Trent Boult, and Colin Munro, apart from Gambhir himself.

Gambhir has won the title with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012 and 2014 and took the side to the playoffs thrice in 2011, 2016 and 2017. However, he will have an uphill task at a side that haven’t reached the playoffs in five consecutive seasons and have never won the league since inception.

"It is likely now that Gambhir will lead the team next season. We had a conversation with him. He has conveyed to us that he would like to make a comeback to his home Delhi and hopefully lead the team. And if you look at his leadership, we did not find any fault when captaining KKR. His last season of IPL also has also been very good. So, we have gone for an experienced captain and I am sure he will do the job for us," Ponting said after first day’s auction.

Kolkata decided to bring in Gambhir back in 2011 in place of Sourav Ganguly risking a mutiny from their fans. And after seven seasons, they look for a similar change yet again as they bring in Dinesh Karthik to replace the successful skipper. While the decision took many by surprise, Ponting stated that he clearly understood their decision.

“When you look at it and see what they have done today is that they want to regenerate their franchise and the team. Look, Gautam has been there for a long time. He might himself felt it is time for a change for a fresh start. We are glad to have him as part of Delhi franchise," Ponting added.