IPL 2018: Gautam Gambhir still in dark why Delhi Daredevils didn’t pick him in team after he stepped down as skipper

Gambhir returned to Delhi Daredevils after 7 years.

Gautam Gambhir started off with a half century, but things got ugly after that | IANS

Gautam Gambhir had started his IPL 2018 by returning to his home franchise of Delhi Daredevils after 7 years. However, the bubble of elation burst soon as DD lost 5 out of 6 matches at the start of the tournament and failed to recover from that.

Gambhir, who also failed with the bat, after scoring a fifty, voluntarily stepped down from captaincy and was unceremoniously dumped from the playing XI for the rest of the season as well.

In his column for the Hindustan Times, Gambhir touches upon his experience of IPL 2018 and much more. Here are some excerpts from the column.

Talking about why he didn’t play for the team after giving up captaincy, Gambhir wrote,” A lot of people asked me why I didn’t play after stepping down from captaincy. My reply is simple: I would have played had I been picked.”

He also talked about what went wrong for the team, “A lot of people also ask me where did we go wrong. It is simple again: injuries to key players like Rabada and Morris, inability to build the right team combination, certain players not clicking, the team not playing important moments well and also the inability to handle pressure are all reasons for our failure. I have always believed it is bowlers who win you games whatever be the format. I think we lacked there.

He also refuted the rumors of him retiring and contesting the DDCA elections. He says he is planning to go on a vacation and continue playing cricket for his teams.

Kolkata Knight Riders face Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2018 eliminator match and Gambhir said, “Well, I am firmly in the KKR camp. Besides my emotional attachment with my erstwhile team, I think the ‘purples’ have the experience of playing big games. I have liked the way Dinesh Karthik has led the group. He has absorbed pressures well. I have loved the way he has handled Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling. I get a feeling it could once again be their day.

He called Rajasthan Royals’ Sanju Samson his favorite player and says he can do well against the formidable KKR bowling.

He also lauded BCCI’s decision to hold the exhibition T20 women’s match, saying, “I also caught a glimpse of Tuesday’s women’s exhibition match on TV. I think BCCI should be lauded for this one. It is a smart way of initiating a probable franchisee cricket for women. It may be some distance away but at least the initial voices are good.

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 23 May, 2018

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