Gautam Gambhir will lead Delhi Daredevils in the Champions League starting next month. Gambhir takes over from Virender Sehwag, who was not keen to keep the job.
“Sehwag has been a source of great strength and inspiration to the team. When he expressed a desire to step down in order to fully focus and concentrate on batting, we respected his decision and accepted his request,” said GMR Sports chairman Srinivas Bommidala.
In an encouraging statement for Gambhir, Sehwag said, “I would like to thank GMR for their understanding in accepting my request (to step down). Personally, I would like to concentrate on my batting and contribute to the team. Gautam did a great job of captaining Delhi and also during IPL-2 in South Africa this year. He has shown very good leadership skills and will bring fresh energy into the Delhi Daredevils.”
Gambhir’s reaction was on expected lines. “I have always looked up to Viru. He has been a guide and friend for me. It is always difficult to fit into the shoes of someone as illustrious as him. I have led Delhi in the past in Ranji Trophy and we won the title. I have also had the opportunity to lead the Delhi Daredevils in IPL-2 when Viru was injured. It was an enriching experience and hopefully I can put into practice all that I have learnt.”
The Delhi Daredevils squad of 15 for Champions League: Gautam Gambhir (Captain), Dinesh Karthik (vice-captain), Virender Sehwag, AB De Villiers, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Daniel Vettori, Paul Collingwood, Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra, Dirk Nannes, Owais Shah, Rajat Bhatia, Pradeep Sangwan, Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh and Mithun Manhas.
