Former India left-hander Hemang Badani is the frontrunner to become the head coach of Delhi Capitals while fast bowler Munaf Patel’s name is being discussed for the role in the franchise’s support staff. Delhi Capitals had removed Australia’s Ricky Ponting as head coach a few weeks ago due to his availability issues.
Ponting was with the team since 2018. “The Delhi Capitals management is looking for top-class domestic coaches and the names of Hemang and Munaf have come up,” an Indian Premier League source told PTI on condition of anonymity. The final decision has not been taken yet but Munaf can be the bowling coach.
Like most other franchises, Delhi Capitals are also expected to retain three players ahead of the upcoming grand auction. The team can retain captain Rishabh Pant (Rs 18 crore), all-rounder Axar Patel (Rs 14 crore) and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav (Rs 11 crore).
Retaining five players will cost Rs 75 crore, so it is believed that last year’s star player Jake-Fraser McGurk and South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs can be selected by the team through Right to Match (RTM) card, provided their The price should be within the team’s budget. The reason for Badani’s name coming up as the head coach could be a matter of change in management for the next two years.
GMR, one of the team’s co-owners, will now operate the team. The other co-owner is JSW. It is believed that both the co-owners have agreed to manage the team for two years each. Badani has previously worked with Brian Lara in Sunrisers Hyderabad but if he gets this job then it will be a big opportunity for him.
Badani, a former Tamil Nadu batsman, played four Tests and 40 ODIs for India between 2001–2004, with the highlight of his career being an ODI century against Australia in the 2001 bilateral series. He will be expected to lead Delhi Capitals to their first IPL title which has eluded the team since the inception of the league in 2008. Delhi has reached the final only once in 2020 when it lost to Mumbai Indians.
