IPL 2018: I never dropped myself from playing XI, says Gautam Gambhir

Delhi Daredevils (DD) ended the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season as the wooden spooners once again with only 5 wins from 14 matches. But they defeated the likes of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in the last couple of games. Their skipper Gautam Gambhir stepped down from the captaincy midway through the season and also warmed the bench after playing only 5 matches due to poor returns. However, he has now come up with a statement that he was ready to play every game and never dropped himself from the playing XI.

Ever since Gambhir resigned from the helm, he didn’t play a single game for Delhi this year with even the new captain Shreyas Iyer clarifying that the left-hander dropped himself from the team. The same was reiterated by the coach Ricky Ponting recently in the press conference after the match against Mumbai.

“After resigning from the captaincy, it was Gambhir’s decision to sit out of the playing XI,” Ponting said. The veteran had only scored 85 runs in 5 outings with an unacceptable strike-rate of 96.59 and his struggles in the middle were visible.

Gambhir’s statement

Gautam Gambhir, however, has denied the fact that he dropped himself from the team and has cleared that he was ready to play every match even after resigning as the captain. “I never dropped myself from the playing XI. If that was the case, then I would’ve announced the retirement as well. A lot of cricket is still left in me,” he said while speaking to ABP News on their show named ‘Wah Cricket’.

He also clarified the reason for him stepping down from the captaincy midway through the season. “The team was losing matches continuously under my leadership and I resigned taking the whole responsibility for the same. But I never rejected from playing in the side and the team management and Ricky Ponting is also aware of this fact,” he added. Moreover, the 36-year-old also went on to say that he has no intentions to retire with immediate effect and will continue playing at least for one more year.

“I am not retiring right now. The next season of IPL is still a year away and if I do well in the first-class season, then I will play next year as well,” he concluded.

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