Three captaincy replacement options available for Delhi Daredevils

The Delhi Daredevils had a poor run in the IPL 2018. They finished at the bottom of the points table at the league stages. Nothing seemed to work for them in the season. Their overseas players failed to live up to the expectations and their domestic talent found no support throughout the season. As the final result of the season came to the fore, it became clear that the tournament cannot be won only by the efforts of the team.

They need a very stable head as the leader in the camp who could guide through. This was one major difference between the bottom placed sides and the top two sides of the competition. Talking about the Delhi Daredevils, the team started off the season under the new leadership of Gautam Gambhir.

They failed miserably and switched to a younger captain in Shreyas Iyer. Iyer tasted some success but it all arrived a little too late. Now, the franchise can sit back and work out their plans for IPL 2019. They can figure out who they wish to see as their captain in the next edition of the tournament. Here we try to pick three potential captaincy candidates for the Daredevils next season.

Here are the three captaincy replacement options available for Delhi Daredevils:

1. Rishabh Pant

The Delhi Daredevils can take a leaf from the book of the Delhi Ranji team. Despite having several senior players in the side, the Delhi domestic side is led by young Rishabh Pant. The focus is on the process of building a good leader and a proper core of the team. The move has worked decently well for the Delhi team as they performed very well in the domestic season this year.

The double Ds can think on the same lines and consider Rishabh Pant as a captaincy option. Pant was the most successful batsman for the Daredevils in IPL 2018. Pant won the award of the Emerging Player of the Season. He aggregated 684 runs in the 14 matches that he played at an average over 50. He even scored a whirlwind ton in the match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

2. Prithvi Shaw

Young batsman Prithvi Shaw was a revelation for the Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2018. Shaw filled the big boots of Gautam Gambhir in the opening slot for the team. He responded very well by becoming the youngest player to score an IPL fifty. Shaw backed it up with another fifty later in the season. In the 9 matches that he played, he scored 245 runs with a strike rate as high as 153.12.

Certainly, he is a player for the future. The Daredevils can think of grooming a young captain. Who knows, they might end up seeing their fortunes bloom big time. Shaw has captained at the age group level and has absorbed the pressure of the captaincy. Under his captaincy, the India U19 team recently won the ICC U19 World Cup in 2018. Considering the impact he can have on the game, it will really be a wild card move from the Daredevils to let Shaw take over the captaincy duties next season.

3. Glenn Maxwell

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is a big match player. He arrived in to the IPL 2018 riding on a big reputation. He played for a new franchise, the Delhi Daredevils this year. He had a disappointing outing with the bat as he failed to score a single fifty in the season. He averaged less than 20 with the bat and the critics slammed him for his lackluster time in the tournament.

Well, the double Ds can spring a surprise by letting him lead the side in the next game. It will not be surprising to see Maxwell succeeding in the pressure of captaincy. Albeit the history does not validate this move, the Daredevils would know this is worth a shot. Maxwell has led the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL before but has not tasted much success. Having said that, it is worth noting that has matured a great deal since then.

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