Delhi Daredevils officially renamed Delhi Capitals
Ahead of the 2019 IPL auction, the Delhi-based IPL franchise has officially changed their name from 'Delhi Daredevils' to 'Delhi Capitals'. The new logo, with three tigers on its emblem, has also been unveiled.
Shreyas Iyer has been confirmed to be the captain for the upcoming season.
The announcement was made on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, with the official rechristening taking place at an event in New Delhi. The social media handles of the franchise have been fairly active over the last one week, asking followers to tune in on 'D-Day', 4th December, for the official announcement, having kept the curiosity burning with cryptic tweets.
Co-owned by JSW Sports and GMR Group, the 'Daredevils', one of the original IPL teams from 2008, have not been able to win a single title in 11 seasons.
GMR's Corporate Chairman Kiran Kumar Grandhi and JSW's Parth Jindal were present at the event. Captain Shreyas Iyer, who replaced Gautam Gambhir midway through the tournament last season, sent in a video message for the fans. Shikhar Dhawan, who is returning to the franchise after 11 years, also shared a video message after the change in name.
Former India captain Mohammad Kaif, who was hired as assistant coach, said: "I can't wait to get started. This team has a promising core and loves the game as much as every cricketing fanatic does".
Jindal added: "Our supporting staff has a knack of picking raw talent and moulding them. Sandeep Lamichhane is a fine example of that. This season we have Kaif too who has been a natural talent scout too in this country. Shikhar Dhawan is a proven performer in IPL and he adds the perfect experience to the motivated young core of ours".
The Daredevils finished last, with 10 points, in the 2018 IPL.