Gautam Gambhir appointed captain of Delhi Daredevils for IPL 2018

In what was expected, Gautam Gambhir has been appointed the captain of the Delhi Daredevils franchise for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.

He was bought by the Daredevils for Rs. 2.80 crore in the auctions which were held in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28.

It came as a huge surprise when the Kolkata Knight Riders decided against retaining the southpaw who led them to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. However, it was Gambhir himself who had asked KKR to release for the upcoming season as he wanted to return to his hometown.

Ricky Ponting, who is the head coach of the Daredevils had more or less confirmed the news of Gambhir leading Delhi for IPL 2018. Ponting praised Gambhir's captaincy skills and was keen on him working with the youngsters and helping Delhi achieve their maiden IPL title.

"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 thought it would be good to have him as captain working with some of the young Indian players. So, we have gone for an experienced captain and I am sure he will do the job for us," Ponting had said after the auction.

Gambhir played a huge role in KKR's success over the past 7 seasons, ever since taking charge in 2011.

Apart from his captaincy, he was also one of the leading run-scorers for KKR over the years. He led from the front, guided the youngsters, and established KKR as one of the best teams in the league.

He will now return to the Daredevils for a second stint, having played for them from 2008-2010. He has played a total of 148 matches in the IPL and scored 4132 runs at an average of 31.78 with 35 half-centuries to his name.