Delhi Daredevils touted to undergo major changes within the franchise

What's the story

Those closely associated with the Delhi IPL franchise has nothing else to speak about right now, other than the strong winds of imminent change that have been forecasted over the last couple of days. It all began with the side's former CEO Mr. Hemant Dua resigning from the role.

And now, the GMR group, the consortium behind the ownership of the team, has been known to have engaged in a 50-50 deal with Bengaluru FC owners JSW group, which in turn is touted to bring about huge structural and managerial changes within the franchise, including a possible change-of-name.

In case you didn't know...

The team does not have a rich history when it comes to the IPL. Their best performances were in 2009 and 2012 when they went into the playoffs as table-toppers. However, losing in the crucial knockout matches prevented them from going any further.

They also qualified for the now-defunct Champions League T20 in both seasons. Since then it has all been downhill for the side - they finished last in the league in 2011 and 2013, seventh in 2014, sixth in 2016 and 2017 and last again in 2018.

The loss in 2018 was like a nail on the coffin for the DD management, who had splurged a lot of money in the past couple of seasons, to rope in some good players. They, in turn, underperformed and so, despite having a good squad in paper terms.

This eventually led to Hemant Dua stepping down from his role, last week. He was the CEO of the franchise from 2013.

The heart of the matter

Parth Jindal, the chairperson of the aforementioned JSW Group, will apparently be in charge of calling a majority of shots with external repercussions – giving out the impression that he is bound to be the new man in charge.

He is apparently working on a host of vital decisions ranging from things as inconsequential as a change in apparel colours, work his way up through a change in the name of the franchise even, and all the way to appointing the various people who he feels should be at the helm of cricket administration within the club.

It has been known that Jindal does not favour the suffix “devils” in the team name, being of the belief that it has not helped the side in any way over the tournament's 11-year-old history.

He also wants to place current head coach Ricky Ponting at a more prominent, decision-making role that will cover several aspects of the club that is beyond just coaching.

It is also speculated that he may appoint current CSK player Harbhajan Singh as a “mentor” to assist Ponting. He has not been released from the Chennai franchise yet and is till date an Indian player as well. However, sources close to the Delhi side have told not to feel surprised if at all Bhajji decides to call it a day from his playing career, in the upcoming weeks.

Another problem that Jindal feels, is with the “flamboyancy” in leading the team. Last season, the side was lead by young Shreyas Iyer, and the new call may have as well been a direct reference to him. It was not due to Iyer''s fault that the team stood at the bottom of the standings, but Jindal may have felt the need for more experienced brains to take up the task.

What's next

It is believed that the dust will settle to more even levels in the upcoming days when the future on Ponting's role will be known for sure.

With other factors like Harbhajan's position, the apparent re-christening also slated for the upcoming weeks, we may be seeing a reincarnated Delhi team, in IPL 2019.