Cricket News

Delhi strips Yash Dhull of Ranji captaincy, Himmat Singh to replace 21-year old

Just hours after a humiliating loss to Puducherry in their Ranji Trophy opener, Delhi have opted for a shake-up, relieving promising batsman Yash Dhull of the captaincy duties. The side will now be led by senior-batter Himmat Singh who has been around the scene for quite some time now.

“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,” Delhi and District Cricket Association joint secretary, Rajan Manchanda told PTI after Delhi went down to Puducherry.

Dhull was appointed as captain back in December 2022 as he had certified credentials, having led India-19 to World Cup glory that same year. His tenure started well but he went through a dip in form and that has extended to this season as well. Across two innings, he could only manage to score 25 runs and looked completely out of sorts, both as a batter and captain.

Himmat will now face the huge challenge of turning things around for Delhi, a side which has struggled in recent years. While he has been around for a while, Himmat has featured in just 22 first-class games and has an average of just under 40.

More problems for Delhi

Over the last few years, Delhi’s performance in the Ranji Trophy has left a lot to be desired. Their opening game hasn’t promised a change of fortunes and now, they will also have to deal with the absence of senior quicks, Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini. It has been learnt that Ishant has only signed up for Delhi’s home games. Saini, on the other hand, will join the India A squad which will face the England Lions in a few days. As such, the defeat to Puducherry could only be the start of a miserable season for Delhi unless the rest of the players take responsibility.