2019 is very important from the cricketing point of view. We have the most awaited CRICKET WORLD CUP this year, and the teams all over the world are already gearing up for the big game. Recently Indian team has shown extraordinary performance in the Australian Test Series. We have won after 71 years and that too on the Australian turf. Much of the achievements internationally, finally, it is now time for where the Indians enjoy the pleasure of teams playing in the house.
But the most awaited event for all of us is the Indian Premier League. And one of the biggest news ahead of the auction was the name change of one of the famous team- Delhi Daredevils. The team is owned by the GMR group and the JSW sports. The team is a franchise cricket team that represents the city of Delhi. In December 2018, the owners decided to change the name of the team to Delhi Capitals.
CHANGE OF NAME, LOGO, AND JERSEY!
The co-owners have unveiled the name recently. The team has been playing ever since the league started. But still, this is the only team not to reach the finale. The owners believe that the change of name might help the team. The owners explain the unique name of the team as Delhi is the power and the capital of the country, hence the name. The owners have also made a slight change in the logo as well as the jersey of players. This change is supposed to bring in new enthusiasm and create synergy among the players.
Delhi Capitals Team and Squad
The team has got only 25 crores in hand to participate in the auction. The team has hired Sriram Srinath who was the former manager of Sunriser's Hyderabad, helping it to the finale. There are around 14 players that the team retained from last year. The owners even used up their purse to buy the best of younger players. Apart from this, they also traded Shikhar Dhawan from RCB. The squad includes the following players:
A Bains (wk)
Hanuma Vihari
Shreyas Iyer
Shikhar Dhawan
Rishabh Pant (wk)
Prithvi Shaw
Colin Munro
Jalaj Saxena
Keemo Paul
S Rutherford
Colin Ingram
Axar Patel
Harshal Patel
Manjot Kalra
Chris Morris
Amit Mishra
Rahul Tewatia
Trent Boult
S Lamichhane
B Ayyappa
Nathu Singh
Ishant Sharma
Avesh Khan
Kagiso Rabada
The fun fact necessary here is Sandeep Lamichhane is the only player from Nepal to be included in IPL team.
TRAINING AND COACHES
The home ground of the team is Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, New Delhi. The team will retain the former coach that is the legendary Ricky Ponting. But this time he will be assisted by Mohammad Kaif. Along with this, fast bowling will be coached by James Hopes, Spin bowling by Narendra Hirwani, Fielding coaching by Subhadeep Ghosh and the Physiotherapists- Paul Close and Vaibhav Daga.
The owners are very optimistic about this new change. They believe it will improve not only the optimism of the players but also the patriotism of the people towards the team. The team hasn't seen the victory in last 11 year. They have big hopes and plans for the new season. Let's hope that the change brings an about visible change in the performance of the team. The team owners and players have been seen as more optimistic, revitalized and energetic for the new season of IPL.