Yash Dhull, former U19 World Cup-winning captain of India, has been removed from Delhi's captaincy after the team's crushing defeat to Puducherry in its Ranji Trophy 2024 opener.
Dhull has been replaced by the right-handed batter Himmat Singh as skipper. Himmat's first assignment will be to lead the side in the game against Jammu & Kashmir.
DDCA's (Delhi and District Cricket Association) decision to strip Dhull from captaincy comes across as a surprise. The 21-year-old would have expected the DDCA to give him a longer run as captain but it wasn't meant to be.
DDCA's joint secretary Rajan Manchanda justified the call by saying that the board wants "out of form" Dhull to "do well as a batter".
"Yash is a talented player but is out of form. We wanted him to do well as a batter, that is why we have relieved him of captaincy duties. Himmat is our senior player and has done very well for us. He will captain the side," DDCA joint secretary Rajan Manchanda told PTI.
Notably, Delhi had a great chance to kick off the Ranji Trophy 2024 season with a bang as they were playing Puducherry at home - Arun Jaitley Stadium.
However, the hosts failed to exploit the home advantage and were bundled out for just 148 in 62.5 overs, with Dhull scoring just two runs.
Seamer Gaurav Yadav was the wrecker-in-chief for the visitors as he claimed a seven-for while conceding just 49 runs in his 26.5 overs.
Delhi's bowlers bowled well but couldn't prevent Puducherry from taking a 104-run lead. Dhull (23 off 40 balls) failed to notch up a big score in the second innings again as Delhi got bundled out for 145 and could only post a target of 50 on the board for Puducherry to chase.
The tourists got over the line with nine wickets to spare as Delhi got battered and bruised at home in a humiliating way.
