Delhi Daredevils’ already disappointing season hit another low when their skipper Gautam Gambhir resigned from this post, taking responsibility for the team’s disastrous run in the ongoing Indian Premier League. Now, it is learnt that Gambhir has also decided to forego his entire Rs 2.8 crore salary and will play the rest of the season for free, making him the first captain to do so. The development was reported by PTI citing an unnamed source.
“Gautam has decided that he won’t take any salary from the franchise for the season. He will play remaining part of IPL for the Delhi Daredevils for free,” the source said. He added that Gautam is a very proud man and it is a very personal call.
“Gautam is someone who puts pride above everything else. He has been a proud performer. He doesn’t want to take any money and it’s a very personal call. In fact, he wanted to quit just after the KXIP game,” the source added.
However, when FinancialExpress.com contacted Delhi Daredevils to confirm the news, the team said it can neither confirm nor deny the development.
Gambhir resigned from captaincy after Delhi Daredevils lost five of their six games with the skipper managing a meagre 85 runs opening the batting, including a half-century in the first game. “It is solely my decision and there was no pressure from the franchise. As I said, my performance was not upto the mark and I just could not handle the pressure,” he had said during a press conference earlier this week.
Asked about whether he will be available for the next season, Gambhir had said that he will take the decision only after this season gets over. “I don’t know, it’s too early for me to decide on that. Let me sit down and decide. I have to think where my game goes and I go as an individual,” Gambhir said.
The Delhi Daredevils will face Kolkata Knight Riders in their next match at Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday evening. Shreyas Iyer will lead DD in place of Gambhir.