Rishabh Pant to captain Delhi in the absence of Ishant Sharma

The proclaimed successor of legendary Indian wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant, is all set to lead the Delhi side in the Ranji Trophy under the absence of Ishant Sharma. The Head Coach of the Delhi Ranji team KP Bhaskar confirmed the latest development within the camp.

The former U-19 star, who made a name for himself in the recently undergone season of the Indian Premier League for the Delhi Daredevils, will captain the side for the second time during his tenure as a Delhi cricketer. Previously, he was appointed as the captain of the Delhi team for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, after the selectors decided to make the stern decision to remove Gautam Gambhir from the coveted position.

However, it should be noted that Delhi failed to qualify for the second round of the tournament under the captaincy of Pant and also affected his performances with the bat. The news of Rishabh Pant taking over the role of captaincy might be surprising for some as Delhi management appointed Milind Kumar for the deputy role of their captain Ishant Sharma.

Gambhir refused to take up captaincy earlier in the season

In a shocking turn of events, Gautam Gambhir was removed from captaincy by selectors Atul Wassan and Nikhil Chopra who were interested in Pant looking at the future. Prior to the start of the 2017/18 Ranji season, the selectors decided to reinstate Gambhir as the captain of the team, to which the latter refused to take charge.

Gambhir has had rifts with Head Coach KP Bhaskar and accused him of being unfair to the youngsters in the team. Earlier this year, Gambhir also claimed that the players of Delhi team were mistreated and revealed that he had to pay from his own pocket for the breakfast and mineral water for players.

“I spent money on water and breakfast for probables. I spent from my own pocket. This I did because I love these youngsters, not for DDCA. I am doing it for cricket. Where were all these so-called officials in DDCA back then?” questioned Gambhir in one of the interviews with Zee News.