IPL 2021: "I want R Ashwin to captain Delhi Capitals next season" - Gautam Gambhir 

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Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has revealed who he wants to see as Delhi Capitals skipper for the next IPL season in 2022 and it is none other than Ravichandran Ashwin.

The Delhi Capitals lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders by three wickets in Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2021 yesterday. Despite being in the driving seat, the Morgan-led side lost the plot in the last few overs during their chase of 135 runs in Sharjah.

After being 123-1, KKR lost as many as six wickets while adding just seven runs to the scoreboard. The equation was such that the Knight Riders needed to score seven runs against Ashwin in the ultimate over of the match.

The off-spinner started well, conceding just one run off the first ball and then dismissing Shakib before sending back Sunil Narine as well to raise the hopes of Delhi fans.

However, a juicy short ball outside off-stump gave Rahul Tripathi enough time to smash the penultimate ball straight down the ground and over the ropes to send KKR into the finals.

While speaking with ESPNcricinfo, Gambhir named the off-spinner as his choice to captain the Delhi-based franchise. The former Indian cricketer named Ashwin over current captain Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, who was the first-choice skipper before a shoulder injury ruled him out from the first half of the IPL 2021. He said:

"Look, I'm one of his biggest fans and he's one of the best spinners in the world. So, yes, it may be a bizarre call and only I can think about this... but I would like to make him the captain of Delhi Capitals next year."

The 35-year-old off-spinner already has the experience of captaining an IPL franchise. The Chennai-born bowler led the Punjab Kings in the 2018 and 2019 seasons of the Indian Premier League.

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"I would never have somebody like Ravichandran Ashwin in my team" - Sanjay Manjrekar

Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar stated that he would not have a player like Ravichandran Ashwin in his T20 team and instead have a 'wicket-taker' like Varun Chakravarthy or Sunil Narine. In an interaction with ESPNcricinfo, the former cricketer-turned commentator said:

"We have spent far too much talking about Ashwin. As a T20 bowler, he is not a great force in any team. And if you want Ashwin to change, I don't think that's going to happen because he's been like this for the last five-seven years."

Manjrekar added:

"I think he has shown us in the last five years that he's bowled exactly the same and I would never have somebody like Ashwin in my team because if I got turning pitches, I would expect to have people like Varun Chakravarthy or Sunil Narine or [Yuzvendra] Chahal and how they do their job. They get you wickets."

Ashwin, who's also been named in the 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, has had an IPL 2021 to forget.

The former CSK spinner managed to scalp just seven wickets at a poor average of 47 in 13 matches this season. With franchise cricket over for now, it remains to be seen how the veteran will approach the upcoming mega ICC event.