Left-handed opening batsman Gautam Gambhir was on March 7 appointed captain of the Delhi Daredevils franchise for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Earlier, during the IPL 11 player’s auction held in Bengaluru on January 28, Gambhir was picked by Delhi Daredevils franchise for Rs 2.8 crore after the Delhi batsman was sent into the pool auction by his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.
Heman Dua, CEO of the Delhi franchise, took to his Twitter account to announce the captain of his team. He tweeted:
Happy to announce @GautamGambhir as our @DelhiDaredevils Captain for 2018 and beyond … He left us as a #Captain and come back as our #Captain … #VivoIPL #IPL #DilDilli
— Hemant Dua (@inspiranti) 7 March 2018
Soon after being appointed as the captain, Gambhir said:
“I’m more excited than I have ever been.”
– newly appointed skipper, @GautamGambhir on his return to DD.So are we! _
#DilDilli #DilliKaKaptaan pic.twitter.com/pcqrHjONna— Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) 7 March 2018
This will be Gambhir’s second innings with the Delhi franchise as he played for them during 2008 – 2010 season.
Since the inaugural IPL season in 2008, Gambhir has so far played 148 matches and scored 4,132 runs including 35 half-centuries in his kitty. He is at No 4 in terms of being the leading run-scorer in the IPL history. Suresh Raina is at No 1 followed by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
HE’S BACK! _#DilDilli #DilliKaKaptaan pic.twitter.com/0bCz1HeTIT
— Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) 7 March 2018
Besides, he also led KKR franchise to lift the IPL trophy two times in 2012 and in 2014.
Following Gambhir’s announcement as skipper, his fans on Twitter started predicting a win for Delhi in the IPL 11. Here are some of the reactions:
Yes! He’s back! And this time DD is gonna win__
— BRING BACK GAUTI (@rimujha5) 7 March 2018
Yes he is back
And there will bang in #ipl11@GautamGambhir ___— Sunil kumar (@Sunilku10480147) 7 March 2018
Toh chalo aao swag se karengey gautam gambhir ka swaagat. Oye gauti, tenu suit suit karda#DilDilli #KotlaKaKaptaan #GambhirIsBack pic.twitter.com/3AWVkrkGkC
— Faraz Attar (@FarazAttar5) 7 March 2018
I’m very excited…
— Himanshu (@himanshu815181) 7 March 2018
The IPL 11 season will start from April 7, with the inaugural match scheduled to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
