Delhi Capitals add Venugopal Rao and Hemang Badani to their coaching staff ahead of IPL 2025
Delhi Capitals have added former Team India batters Venugopal Rao and Hemang Badani to their coaching staff for the upcoming season of IPL. The latter joins the team as the Head Coach, while the former has been appointed the Director of Cricket for the IPL franchise.
Venugopal Rao and Hemang Badani have played in the IPL and have also provided commentary in Telugu and Tamil, respectively. Notably, Venugopal Rao has played for the Delhi Capitals in the past (then Daredevils), Badani, on the other hand, was part of the Chennai Super Kings team that won the IPL in 2010. Both have also shared the dressing room for Team India.
On Thursday, October 10, Delhi Capitals announced that the duo would join the franchise's coaching setup. Take a look below at their post on X:
Venugopal Rao replaces Sourav Ganguly as the Director of Cricket while Hemang Badani will replace Ricky Ponting in the Head Coach role.
Venugopal Rao and Hemang Badani have worked with Delhi Capitals sister sides abroad
Hemang Badani and Venugopal Rao have worked with DC's sister franchise, Dubai Capitals. Badani was also appointed the batting coach of defending SA20 champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
Speaking on their appointment, chairman and co-owner of Delhi Daredevils, Kiran Kumar Grandhi said (via DC's official website):
"We are delighted to welcome Hemang and Venu to Delhi Capitals. Both have been an integral part of our team for a long time, and we're excited to have them on board in a different role. With their proven track record as coaches, we're confident that their expertise will be invaluable in helping us achieve our objectives and drive success for Delhi Capitals."
On his appointment as Director of Cricket, Venugopal Rao had the following to say:
“My association with the franchise has been a long-standing one, and I am thankful for the trust our owners have placed in me by offering me this role,” said Rao. “I look forward to this new challenge ahead of a new IPL cycle”
Badani said after his appointment:
"It’s my absolute honour to be joining Delhi Capitals, and I’m deeply grateful to our owners for trusting me with the job. With the mega auction around the corner, my job, in collaboration with the rest of our coaching staff, is cut out. I can’t wait to get started.”
Venugopal Rao and Hemang Badani will now be working on the retention strategy of the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. The last date to submit the list of retained players is October 31, 2024.