Gambhir's call to sit out of the playing XI says Shreyas Iyer, terms it a courageous decision

Gautam Gambhir surprised everyone when he stepped down from the captaincy of Delhi Daredevils after the poor performance of the side. Taking the blame on himself, Gambhir decided to quit the captaincy and suggested that it was his own call and no one from the team management forced him to do so.

On Friday, when Delhi Daredevils’ new skipper Shreyas Iyer when came for the toss for the first time for the match against Dinesh Karthik-led Kolkata Knight Riders, he gave another shock when he said that Gambhir is not part of playing XI. Notably, in-form Shreyas Iyer once again played a terrific inning and helped his side post a huge total.

It was 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw who provided an able support to the skipper as he became joint youngest half-centurion in the Indian Premier League (IPL). DD bowlers defended the total and registered their 2nd victory of the tournament. Colin Munro who replaced Gambhir at the top played a handly knock providing a breezy start.

It was a courageous decision of dropping himself: Iyer

After a winning start, Iyer while talking to the media after the match said that it was Gambhir himself who opted to sit out of the side. “It wasn’t my decision to drop him. He himself decided to sit out, which was really courageous decision with him being the captain in the previous matches,” said 23-year-old Mumbai-born player. “The respect for him has gone really high. It’s really [good to] see when a captain if he’s not playing well, he backs out. Munro came in and gave us the desired start,” said Iyer.

It was an interesting decision from 36-year-old Gambhir to sit out of the team despite being appointed as the skipper of the side before the tournament. Notably, Gambhir led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL champions on two occasions but in the 11th edition of the tournament, Gambhir was not able to come to the fore with his batting as well as his captaincy decisions.

One would feel that only Gautam Gambhir can take such a call for the benefit of his side.

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