Following a dismal start to their 2018 Indian Premier League campaign, Delhi Daredevils’ skipper Gautam Gambhir has stepped down from the helm of the team. He has been replaced by young Team India prospect Shreyas Iyer, who has been one of the team’s best performers this season. 

The Indian left-hander felt like he could not live up to the expectations from a captain and said that the pressure got to his batting. 

“Maybe I was too desperate to turn things around and that can backfire. It could be the reason. I just couldn’t handle the pressure and when you don’t do that, you have to own that up as a leader,” Gambhir addressed the media on Wednesday.

The press conference was also attended by franchise CEO Hemant Dua and coach Ricky Ponting.

Gambhir also said that he is not thinking about his future course of action in cricket and for him winning matches for DD is all that matters.

He said that there is still an opportunity for DD to change things around in their favour. “I was sitting alone and thinking, I couldn’t handle the pressure… I was not good enough and that is all,” he added.

Gambhir had enjoyed a successful spell as the Kolkata Knight Riders captain, winning the IPL twice and reaching the final of the Champions League T20 once.

The 23-year-old Mumbai batsman, Iyer has been trusted with the captaincy in the aftermath of this situation. “I want to thank the management and my coaches for appointing me as the captain of the team. It is a great honour for me,” he said upon being appointed as the new captain of Delhi Daredevils. 

Iyer has been a former IPL emerging player of the year, and averages around 54 in 40-plus First Class matches. Do you think appointing him as the captain is the right decision? Let us know in the comment section.

Image: ANI, twitter/@gautamgambhir