The Indian Premier League franchise, Delhi Capitals has appointed former Delhi Daredevils player Venugopal Rao as their new Director of Cricket replacing the likes of Sourav Ganguly in the role for the Capitals.
On the other hand, Delhi Capitals had parted ways with former head coach Ricky Ponting months ago, as the veteran left the franchise having coached them for 7 long seasons. Ponting will now be seen in a new role as the head coach of the Punjab Kings.
Replacing the likes of Ponting, Hemang Badani the former Indian player and immensely talented domestic coach will be seen in the position of Delhi Capitals head coach.
These decisions have been solely made by the Delhi Capitals’ management on the back of bringing in a new set of coaching staff as the former staff has not been able to produce a single title win in the IPL.
Former Indian Player, Hemang Badani, had the most splendorous domestic career playing for Tamil Nadu, later he coached the domestic side as well. He played in 4 Tests while also starring in 40 ODI matches in his international career.
He began his coaching role with the Chennai Super Kings, during the initial years in the IPL, however, later he moved from the IPL to India’s domestic cycle, where he coached the Tamil Nadu state team. During his days with the State team, he led the development of players like R.Sai Kishore, a great player in making who currently captains the Tamil Nadu domestic side.
He also had the experience of T20 cricket when he served as the Head coach of the Chepauk Super Gillies, the Tamil Nadu-based local T20 franchise, in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. He also led them to 3-titles in the domestic competition.
Hemang Badani turned to the Indian Premier League in 2022, when he returned to the position of consultant fielding coach and scout for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Not only in Indian conditions, he has also seen himself in immense overseas experience in Global T20 leagues.
His first major overseas role also came with the Sunrisers franchise, when he stood as the assistant coach of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape for the SA20 2023, as they won the inaugural season. Later, he was seen in the position of a consultant coach for the Jaffna Kings in the Lanka Premier League.
Venugopal Rao, the Director of Cricket for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL replaces Sourav Ganguly for the two upcoming seasons of the IPL, while Ganguly will remain the Director of the Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League. This is due to the swapping of roles between JSW sports and GMR groups as owners of their Delhi Capitals side either in IPL or the WPL.
Hemang Badani will assume duties under GMR groups, just like he did in the ILT20 which is played over at the Abu Dhabi, where he was seen in a coaching role for the Dubai Capitals. Badani as the head coach of Dubai Capitals, the franchise finished as the runner-up. He has also coached the Seattle Orcas in the Major League Cricket another team owned by the GMR group.
