After Ranji Trophy debacle against Pondicherry, Delhi sack Yash Dhull as captain, Himmat Singh to take over

Hours after Delhi suffered an embarrassing nine-wicket loss to Pondicherry in the Ranji Trophy, the selectors sacked Yash Dhull from the captaincy. Middle-order batsman Himmat Singh will replace Dhull for the rest of the tournament.

“It was the selectors’ call. To me, Yash getting runs is the most important thing. He is the future of Delhi cricket and maybe Indian cricket. He needs to be taken care of. Anything that helps him concentrate on his batting and getting runs should be prioritised. He doesn’t need distractions off the field,” Delhi coach Devang Gandhi told The Indian Express.

“We want Yash (Dhull) to concentrate on his batting, that is why we have relieved him of captaincy duties,” said the DDCA joint secretary Rajan Manchanda.

Himmat had led Delhi to their famous win over Mumbai in the last season and was also captain of the team in the Buchi Babu Invitational cricket tournament.

Dhull has had a forgettable match against Pondicherry with the bat and his captaincy was below par as well. Dhull scored 2 and 23 in both the innings. Delhi will take on Jammu and Kashmir in an away match from January 12.

The 21-year-old Dhull was appointed Delhi’s captain last season to revive the fortunes of the team. The U-19 World Cup-winning captain had a breakthrough debut season with Delhi senior team in 2022, scoring 479 runs in three matches, including three centuries. However, in the following season, he managed only 270 runs in ten innings (six games).

Although Dhull has scored most of his runs as an opener, he has struggled against the moving ball. The runs he scored during the curtailed Ranji Trophy season in 2021-22, Delhi played its matches in Guwahati in February. In all his age-group games, Dhull has always batted in the middle-order. Back in 2022, he was put straight into the XI and was asked to open. “Apna kaam hai batting karna, opening miley ya No 6 pe. (My job is to bat, whether I get to open or at No 6),” Dhull had told this newspaper after scoring a century on his Ranji Trophy debut.

“He doesn’t want to open, he doesn’t want to bat at 3. He wants to bat 4. What have you achieved in your life so far? If he wants to play for India, he should be ready to bat anywhere and score. He is a talented kid, and we are backing him to bounce back in form,” said a DDCA official.

Three changes

There have been three changes in the 18-man squad that will take on Jammu and Kashmir in an away game starting on January 12. Ishant Sharma won’t be travelling with the team as the veteran pacer will play only the home matches. Navdeep Saini is named in the India A squad to face the visiting England Lions. Left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra has been dropped from the squad. Opener Salil Malhotra, left-arm pacer Kuldip Yadav and medium pacer Prince Yadav are included in the squad.

Delhi squad: Himmat Singh (c), Ayush Badoni (vc), Yash Dhull, Vaibhav Rawal, Jonty Sidhu, Salil Malhotra, Hrithik Shokeen, Harsh Tyagi, Himanshu Chauhan, Anuj Rawat (wk), Lakshya Thareja (wk), Divij Mehra, Kuldip Yadav, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sharma, Vaibhav Kandpal, Tishant Dabla, Kshitiz Sharma.

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