Sources close to the development say that former president of BCCI Sourav Ganguly will return to the IPL as Director for Cricket with the Delhi Capitals. He will also supervise all cricket verticals within the franchise, including the ILT20 side Dubai Capitals and Pretoria Capitals, according to sources. “Yes, Sourav will return to Delhi Capitals in the new year.
Discussions and arrangements have ended. The man has been working with the franchise and shares a good relationship with the owners. If he had worked in IPL, it would have been with DC,” an IPL source who was following the developments said. It was not confirmed whether Ganguly would have a minority stake in the franchise owned by GMR and JSW.
Ganguly was the mentor for Delhi Capitals in his tenure with the franchise in 2019. According to reports, both Ganguly and Ricky Ponting were involved in the recent auction selections for Delhi Capitals. With their diversification, the IPL franchise owners are now seeking global roles for all major names associated with their respective franchises.
The IPL source said that Gautam Gambhir is associated with Lucknow Super Giants, Durban Super Giants, and Mahela Jayawardena has MI Emirates and MI Cape Town, and that the roles are changing as foreign leagues are more diverse. Ganguly and Ponting have been two of the most brilliant cricket minds, but it will be fascinating to see how they work together to bring about the best performance for Delhi Capitals in IPL.
Ponting and Ganguly will have to overcome formidable odds with Rishabh Pan, the regular skipper of IPL, out of action after last week’s horrendous car accident. Pant the skipper can be replaced, but Pant the batter-keeper is still one of the most important game-changers, despite his poor T20 performance.
Actually, Kona Bharat was released by Delhi Capitals, who were selected at the auction by Gujarat Titans. There are none of the top Indian white-ball wicket-keepers available. Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals), Ishan Samson (MI), Wriddhiman SAHA (GT), Upendra Yadav SRH), KL Rahul(LSG), and Wriddhiman Saha [GT], all have already been taken by one or more franchises. The only available skipper for the squad at the moment is Phil Salt, an Englishman.
