Gautam Gambhir first choice to be the captain of Delhi Daredevils

Bengaluru: Australian batting great Ricky Ponting on Saturday announced that Gautam Gambhir, who has proved his leadership prowess while leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Indian Premier League (IPL), will be asked to captain Delhi Daredevils (DD) in the upcoming edition of the cricketing festival.

It is worth mentioning that Ponting, who has coached one of the most successful franchises of IPL, Mumbai Indians (MI), in the past, has been appointed as the coach of DD this year.

Gambhir was shockingly released by KKR despite having a great run as the captain of the side and being in great form in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy season. He was warmly welcomed by DD as the perfect choice for the role of captain.

Also Read: IPL Auction 2018: Team-wise list of players sold on Day 1

"We had a fair bit of thought into that. It is likely now that Gambhir will lead the team next season. We had conversation with him. He has conveyed to us that he would like to make a comeback to his home Delhi and hopefully lead the team," Ponting said after the auction.

"And if you look at his leadership, we did not find any fault when captaining KKR. His last season of IPL also has also been very good. So we thought it would be good to have him as captain working with some of the young Indian players. So, we have gone for an experienced captain and I am sure he will do the job for us," the Australian great added.

Puntin, however, wasn’t surprised when KKR did not bid for Gambhir at the IPL auction.

"Not really. When you look at it and see what they have done today is that they want to regenerate their franchise and the team. Look, Gautam has been there for a long time. He might himself felt it is time for a change for a fresh start. We are glad to have him as part of Delhi franchise."

Also Read: IPL 2018 auction: Who goes to which team? Check out here!

There were as many as 15 uncapped cricketers who were given bigger deals than some of the national players.

Replying to the question of them going for the uncapped all-rounders, Ponting said, "I think all the teams want to invest and nurture young talent."

Gambhir was sold for Rs 2.8 crore while Harbhajan Singh, one of the greats in Indian Cricket, was acquired by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the base price of Rs 2 crore.