Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has backed Ravichandran Ashwin to captain Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022. Shreyas Iyer led the Capitals in IPL 2020 and the team was able to qualify for the final whereas Rishabh Pant was given the captaincy bridle for IPL 2021 as Shreyas Iyer was ruled out in the first phase due to a shoulder injury.
Delhi was knocked out of the tournament when they lost the second qualifier against Kolkata Knight Riders by three wickets. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t have the best of seasons for the franchise as he scalped only seven wickets in 13 matches at an average of 47.28 and an economy rate of 7.41.
Ashwin had also led Punjab Kings (earlier Kings XI Punjab) in IPL 2018 and 2019 but could not take the franchise to the playoff stages and had to relinquish his captaincy duties.
When asked whether Delhi Capitals should retain Ravichandran Ashwin, Gambhir said while talking to ESPN Cricinfo, “Look, I’m one of his biggest fans and he’s one of the best spinners in the world. If you look at the overall line-up, it may be a bizarre call maybe and only I can think about this… but if I was there, I would like to make him the captain of Delhi Capitals next year.”
On the other hand, Virender Sehwag believes Delhi Capitals should retain Rishabh Pant. The wicket-keeper batter scored 419 runs for the franchise in IPL 2021 and did a fine job as a leader as DC won 10 out of the 14 league stage matches.
“DC should absolutely retain Rishabh Pant,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz. “But regarding captaincy, we don’t know which players the franchise will be able to buy in the auctions. So depending on that, if they get a better option to lead the team, then it is okay, but if they don’t, then they already have Pant, who has learnt a lot this season,” Sehwag signed off.
Delhi Capitals were probably the best team in the league stage and also topped the points table with 20 points. But they were not able to bring their best to the table in the playoff stages and veered off the track. DC will look to bounce back stronger in the next season.
