Indian Premier League outfit Delhi Daredevils has been renamed to Delhi Capitals as part of a fresh start by the franchise’s new owners.
The Delhi side has never won the IPL title, routinely finishing at the bottom of the table. The new team held on to the old red and blue hues but had added three tigers to a new logo unveiled in New Delhi.
Mumbai-based JSW Sports bought a 50 percent stake in the franchise earlier this year and said they will retain Australian coach Ricky Ponting and captain Shreyas Iyer for the 2019 season.
“Delhi is the power centre of the country, it is the capital, therefore the name Delhi Capitals,” JSW director Parth Jindal said.
“With (Shikhar) Dhawan, we have got more solidity at the top. And the young guys who have been with us (Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant) are doing well for India. The captain and coach are the same, there is continuity there,” he added.
Now retired India opener Gautam Gambhir had stepped down as captain in April after a string of failures. The 37-year-old Gambhir announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Tuesday.
Delhi have a purse of $3.5 million to spend during the IPL auction on December 18 in Jaipur for the next edition of the tournament in April and May.
One part of the 2019 edition is likely to be held outside India depending on the date of the country’s scheduled general election.
