Twitter outraged after Gautam Gambhir was released by Delhi Daredevils

Gautam Gambhir, the discarded Indian batsman, has undoubtedly been one of the most successful players in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL). He has 154 matches under his belt in which he has notched 4218 runs at an average of 31.01. Moreover, he has 36 half-centuries in the event. Apart from his batting, he also has tasted quite some success as a captain in the T20 extravaganza.

The Delhi-born cricketer started his IPL career, representing Delhi Daredevils (DD), but made a move to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2011 when he was picked for a whopping INR 11.4 crore. Thereafter, the experienced campaigner turned out to be a fulcrum of the franchise and authoritatively captained the team to a couple of championship victories in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

Gambhir left out unceremoniously

He became a household name in Kolkata and turned KKR’s wretched fortunes around after the franchise couldn’t make it to the playoffs in the first three seasons. Following seven glorious editions, Gambhir was released by the Men in Gold and Purple. Subsequently, he was listed in the auction at a base price of INR 2 crore. The Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) went after the veteran.

Eventually, Delhi bagged him for INR 2.8 crores. He was also made the captain. In his first match against Punjab, Gambhir notched a half-century, however, his campaign went into the doldrums in the matches afterwards. He failed miserably as the captain and batsman and stepped down as the skipper. To make things worse, the 37-year-old didn’t play a single match thereafter and had to warm the benches.

A couple of days ago, all the eight franchises put forth their list of retained and released players. After one poor season, the Daredevils (DD) decided to sideline the two-time IPL winning captain. In the meantime, Twitterati is angered by the manner in which Gambhir has been left out. Some of them even went on to say the DD can never get their hands on the IPL without the veteran.

Here is how Twitter reacted

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