Ex-India Batter Likely To Replace Sourav Ganguly As Delhi Capitals Director Of Cricket – Reports

Former Indian batter Venugopal Rao, who played in 16 ODIs for Men in Blue from 2005 to 2006, is likely to replace Sourav Ganguly as Director of Cricket in Delhi Capitals for the upcoming 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), whereas his former India teammate Hemang Badani will be the new head coach of the franchise. According to a report in Cricbuzz on Wednesday (October 16), DC’s search for new support staff is over, and Badani will replace Ricky Ponting as head coach.

Badani has previously worked with Brian Lara in Sunrisers Hyderabad, but if he gets the DC job, then it will be his first assignment as head coach of any IPL team. The former Tamil Nadu batter played four Tests and 40 ODIs between 2001-2004 for the Indian team and scored an ODI century against Australia during the epic 2001 bilateral series.

Ponting, who was associated with the Delhi Capitals from 2018, parted ways with the Delhi-based franchise in July 2024 and was then appointed as the new head coach of the Punjab Kings last month.

“Hemang Badani will take charge as head coach for the upcoming two seasons. Additionally, Badani’s former India teammate, Venugopal Rao, will serve as the team’s director of cricket,” the Cricbuzz report stated.

Badani and Venugopal are known for their strong association and professional understanding, and as per the report, Delhi Capitals management has granted them the freedom to select the rest of the coaching staff.

“Both Venugopal and Badani have been involved with the franchise’s subsidiaries elsewhere—mainly in the ILT20 in the UAE and Major League Cricket (MLC) in the US. Incidentally, both those sides—Dubai Capitals and Seattle Orcas—are owned by Delhi Capitals co-owner Kiran Kumar Grandhi of the GMR Group. The JSW group is the other co-owner of the Delhi side, and the GMR group currently holds the reins of the franchise management that alternates between the partners every two years.”

DC to retain Pant, Axar, and Kuldeep

The Delhi Capitals, in all likelihood, will retain skipper Rishabh Pant (18 crore), all-rounder Axar Patel (Rs 14 crore), and left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav (Rs 11 crore) ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. It is believed that Australian top-order batter Jake-Fraser McGurk, who made his IPL debut last year, and South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs could be picked with the Right To Match (RTM) cards if their price tags are within the team’s budget.