Gautam Gambhir has been released by Delhi Daredevils as part of yet another overhaul for the team ahead of IPL 2019.
The 2011 World Cup winner had returned to his maiden IPL club for the previous edition, after spending seven seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Daredevils have let go of a whopping 10 out of their 27-man roster for the 2018 edition – which saw them finish bottom of the pile for a record fourth time in 11 editions of the IPL – in addition to three further players being traded out for the transfer of Shikhar Dhawan from Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Gambhir apart, Delhi have let go off five of the ten overseas players in their squad, including Australians Glenn Maxwell and Dan Christian.
Delhi had made their most notable activity of the trading window last week, by acquiring India opener Dhawan from Sunrisers Hyderabad in a deal which saw Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma and Shahbaz Nadeem go the other way.
That move, in a sense, fueled speculation around Gambhir’s future with the team. Now 37, the left-handed opening batsman had endured a torrid season last year. Gambhir stepped down as captain after a below-par return of 85 runs from the first six matches – five of which also resulted in Delhi losses – and failed to make the playing XI after his resignation.
Indian fast bowler Mohammad Shami was another ouster of note from the squad.
The Daredevils haven’t finished in the top-4 since 2012; they enter next month’s auction with a pool of 15 players, ten Indian and five overseas.
Retained: Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Manjot Kalra, Colin Munro, Chris Morris, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Harshal Patel, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Sandeep Lamichhane and Avesh Khan
Released: Gautam Gambhir, Jason Roy, Gurkeerat Mann, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Shami, Dan Christian, Sayan Ghosh, Liam Plunkett, Junior Dala, Naman Ojha
Traded: Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma and Shahbaz Nadeem for Shikhar Dhawan
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