Newly appointed Delhi Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir was forthright about his team's chances in IPL 2018, emphasizing the importance of team effort for a title-winning run in the Twenty20 League.
‘’A captain is only as good as his team. You can only try and lead by example. It is the team that will win the tournament. Not only by the performances of the playing 11 but by the contribution of all the 25 players’’, Gambhir said.
Gambhir, who is returning to the Delhi team after a seven-year successful stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders, said, ‘’It is great to come back home. I started my IPL and cricket career. Hope to finish here."
Asked if a good IPL season could pave the way for a national comeback, the dynamic southpaw insisted such a thing could only be a by-product.
‘’The target is not for me to come back, but the target is for the team to win. No leader can think like that’’, he said.
About the hefty price-tag bringing added pressure, the 36-year-old said, "Game changers deserve to have a long rope, and cannot be expected to be consistent. If they can win three or four games in a season, it will be fine. The key is to try and give 100 per cent’’, he stated.
Gambhir, who has had a fractious relationship with the Delhi District Cricket Association over the past couple of years, is hoping that helming the Daredevils will bring the best out of him.
“It’s fun to be in a peaceful environment. I haven’t had it in last couple of years,” he observed.
Home coming for Gambhir
The Chief Executive of Daredevils, Hemant Dua, exuded confidence about the new season being the ‘’DD year’’, even as he expressed happiness about the ‘’Delhi boy’’ returning home.
‘’I had maintained that Gauti has unfinished business with the franchise. He was the second-highest scorer during the last IPL. Above all, he is a leader. Both Ricky (Ponting) and Gauti have spoken to each other. I am glad that they are both on the same page’’, Dua remarked.
‘’Gauti has been a leader for a very long time. It is the drive behind the outward confidence which I think will inspire the rest of the team. He has the respect of the dressing room and the franchise is proud to have him as our captain’’, coach Ricky Ponting was quoted in an official release.
The Delhi Daredevils is scheduled to open its campaign against Kings XI, Punjab, at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on April 8.
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