Gautam Gambhir's tryst with Delhi Daredevils
Rewind the clock to 2009, the scene was set in South Africa and Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was ready to lead his side Delhi Daredevils. A youngster who was only 27 years old was given the responsibility of leading a lineup which had some notable names like Virender Sehwag, AB de Villiers, Paul Collingwood, Daniel Vettori and Tillakaratne Dilshan. The Delhi Daredevils finished top of the table under skipper Gambhir. He played three seasons for the franchise, scoring heaps of runs, but the standout factor was his leadership. However, following the turn of the year, the Daredevils decided to let go of him.
The 2011 auction witnessed several changes and saw the veteran left-handed batsman shifting to Kolkata Knight Riders who bid farewell to their most experienced campaigner Sourav Ganguly. The responsibility was on Gambhir who had come into the tournament after lifting a World Cup trophy. Kolkata Knight Riders had failed miserably before the fourth edition of the tournament, as they were knocked out of the tournament in the league stage, failing to reach even playoff. Under a new captain, the franchise went on to reach the playoffs in the fourth edition and managed to qualify for the Champions League T20.
The next edition brought glory to the franchise as their skipper led from the front, amassing 590 runs in 17 matches to help KKR clinch their maiden title. Manvinder Bisla's heroics in the final against the Chennai Super Kings will be remembered by every KKR fan. Gambhir played an integral role in building the team, ensuring that the composition of the team remained subtle. He has led the Knights to the playoffs thrice and the franchise has secured two titles under him.
On the other hand, the Daredevils made the playoffs in the first two editions and have only managed to reach the playoffs once in eight editions after that. The owners of the franchise have looked to form a new team every season, which has proven detrimental. This time around, the Daredevils decided to retain three players in the form of wicket keeper Rishabh Pant, Protean all-rounder Chris Morris and Shreyas Iyer. However, the Daredevils have lacked a proper captain in the past few editions of the tournament and they may look to turn to veteran Gambhir for this season.
The Delhi-based franchise need a leader and who better than Gambhir to do the job? His strike rate has decreased over the years, but opening alongside Rishabh Pant may see him anchor the innings as he did for KKR in the past. The two left-handed openers are currently opening the batting for Delhi in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Daredevils will have a perfect opening combination if they buy Gambhir in the auction.