IPL 2018: Daikin extends sponsorship deal with Delhi Daredevils

Japanese company Daikin Air-conditioners extended their title sponsorship deal with Delhi Daredevils for the fourth successive year. Although it is not official as yet, a formal announcement is expected to be made soon. Daikin struck a deal with Delhi for the first time in 2015 and they have been extending their deal every year.

If reports in Inside Sport are to be believed, they will continue as the title sponsorship deal till the end of the 11th edition of IPL. Earlier, the Mukesh Ambani owned telecom giant Reliance Jio had signed a contract with all the IPL teams in a bid to showcase their strength in the market. Other than these, Mother Dairy is also set to continue with Delhi Daredevils as one of the important sponsors.

Can this be Delhi’s year in the IPL?

The GMR owned franchise has been struggling to find form in the IPL for a long time now. They’ve finished in the bottom half of the table on more occasions than any other side but signing their former player Gautam Gambhir has rejuvenated the spirits of the fans. They also bought some big players like Glenn Maxwell, Kagiso Rabada, Colin Munro, Jason Roy etc., apart from retaining the likes of Chris Morris, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer.

Despite bringing in some big names in the fraternity to aid the side out of trouble, the results didn’t favour the franchise from the Indian capital. Some legendary cricketers from the 90s and early 2000s like Rahul Dravid and Gary Kirsten too have worked with the team in the coaching staff, but their impact didn’t help their cause.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Daredevils franchise makes the most of the youngsters available in the team. A couple of U19 stars in Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra will be dawning the blue and red jersey for the 2018 season, to go with Nepal’s spin sensation Sandeep Lamichhane. They have all the resources in their arsenal to go big this season and their fans would be hoping for a turn around in fortunes.