Former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly set to operate as Director of Cricket with Delhi Capitals

According to various sources Former President of BCCI and cricketing great Sourav Ganguly is all set to return to the IPL circuit, this time as the Director of Cricket for North-Indian franchise Delhi Capitals. He will rejoin the Delhi side for the first time since 2019 when he served as the Mentor.

Sourav Ganguly with Delhi Capitals in 2019
Sourav Ganguly with Delhi Capitals in 2019

Ganguly had no choice but to relinquish his role as a Mentor because he got selected for BCCI Presidential role in 2019. He held on to that position for 3 years and now he is gearing up to return to the pitch to help Delhi win their first ever Indian Premier League trophy. Last year Delhi Capitals missed out on qualifying to the play-offs after losing to Mumbai Indians in their last league match.

Former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly set operate as Director of Cricket with Delhi Capitals

With Sourav Ganguly coming in Delhi will hope for a better performance than last season. If we look at their performance when Ganguly was the Mentor, Delhi secured top 4 qualification in 2019, reached the final in 2020 and in 2021 they remained on top of the standings before failing to reach the final.

The former Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors India captain will join Ricky Ponting – head coach of Delhi Capitals. Two of the former legends will try their best to utilize the current squad and deliver an elusive IPL trophy. Before Ponting and Sourav Ganguly were at the helm, Delhi brought a number of reputed head coaches to change their fortunes.

Sir Vivian Richards and Rahul Dravid are the two most notable names who have tried their luck with Delhi Capitals. The first task Ponting and Ganguly have in hand is to find a replacement for Captain Rishabh Pant who suffered a car crash a few days ago. They will also look to build a solid core which could remain balanced and in-sync throughout the course of IPL 2023.

Sir Vivian Richards with Delhi Capitals in 2013
Sir Vivian Richards with Delhi Capitals in 2013

During the Mini IPL Auction for 2023 season, Delhi Capitals bought explosive batters like Phil Salt, Rilee Rossouw and experienced Veteran Manish Pandey. They also further bolstered their bowling line-up as they bought Mukesh Kumar and Ishant Sharma. Other than the new buys, this is how DC’s squad looks like –

Player Role  Amount Nationality
Rishabh Pant Batsman/Wicket-keeper 16 Crore India
Axar Patel All-Rounder 9 Crore India
Prithvi Shaw Batsman 7.5 Crore India
Anrich Nortje Bowler 6.5 Crore South Africa
David Warner Batsman 6.25 crore Australia
Mitchell Marsh All-Rounder 6.5 crore Australia
Sarfaraz Khan Batsman 20 lakh India
Kamlesh Nagarkoti Bowler 1.1 crore India
Mustafizur Rahman Bowler 2 crore Bangladesh
Kuldeep Yadav Bowler 2 crore India
Khaleel Ahmed Bowler 5.25 crore India
Chetan Sakariya Bowler 4.2 crore India
Lalit Yadav All-Rounder 65 lakh India
Ripal Patel All-Rounder 20 lakh India
Yash Dhull Batsman 50 lakh India
Rovman Powell Batsman 2.8 crore West Indies
Pravin Dubey Bowler 50 lakh India
Lungi Ngidi Bowler 50 lakh South Africa
Vicky Ostwal All-Rounder 20 lakh India
Aman Khan All-Rounder 20 lakh India

Can Delhi Capitals finally land an IPL Trophy?

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