New Delhi, Oct 17: Former India cricketers Hemang Badani and Venugopal Rao have joined the Delhi Capitals as head coach and Director of cricket, respectively, ahead of IPL 2025 season.

Earlier Thursday, various sources confirmed to IANS about Badani and Rao joining the franchise’s coaching staff as they pivot towards an all-Indian coaching staff. The overhaul in DC’s support staff comes with the side not having any IPL title since its inception in 2008.

Badani represented India in four Tests and 40 ODIs, and now replaces Ricky Ponting, who left after seven years, in the top role at DC. He previously worked with Sunrisers Hyderabad from IPL 2021-2023 seasons as a fielding coach and a batting coach in successive seasons.

Badani, who represented Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket, comes with an impressive coaching record in T20 cricket - leading the Jaffna Kings franchise to two consecutive Lankan Premier League titles, and being the head coach of Chepauk Super Gillies winning the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) four times.

Badani also worked as a batting coach with the title wining Sunrisers Eastern Cape side in the inaugural edition of the SA20, and was head coach of the Dubai Capitals side that reached this year’s ILT20 final.

“It’s my absolute honour to be joining Delhi Capitals, and I’m deeply grateful to our owners for trusting me with the job. With the mega auction around the corner, my job, in collaboration with the rest of our coaching staff, is cut out. I can’t wait to get started,” said Badani.

On the other hand, Venugopal, who also holds Director of Cricket position at GMR Sports, co-owners of Delhi Capitals, played 16 ODIs for India. He was a part of the 2009 IPL winning squad with Deccan Chargers, and represented DC from 2011 to 2013. At DC, he will take the role previously held by former India captain Sourav Ganguly.

Like Badani, he has also been part of Dubai Capitals as a mentor in the inaugural season and Director of Cricket in the next year, apart from the duo being together in coaching staff of Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket (MLC) in USA.

“It’s my absolute honour to be joining Delhi Capitals, and I’m deeply grateful to our owners for trusting me with the job. With the mega auction around the corner, my job, in collaboration with the rest of our coaching staff, is cut out. I can’t wait to get started,” said Rao.

There has been no word on future of other support staff members of DC, though IANS understands Munaf Patel is likely to take up the bowling coach role at the franchise. This coaching overhaul comes in the light of a change in structure of the franchise’s operations happening on a two-year rotational basis.

The GMR Group will run cricketing operations of the Delhi Capitals in IPL for the next two years, while co-owners JSW Sports will be at the helm of the franchise in Women’s Premier League (WPL).

It will be followed by a switch between the two parties in 2027, with Ganguly now set to be DC’s director of cricket in WPL and for Pretoria Capitals in SA20 in 2025 and 2026. The DC co-owners said key decisions like auctions, captaincy, player release and retentions of both teams will be made by the franchise’s board, and will be decided mutually by senior leadership of both groups.

With regards to player retention strategy, Delhi Capitals’ are likely to retain Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. A word on them retaining the team’s young overseas performers Fraser-McGurk and Tristan Stubbs is yet to come. All ten teams have time till October 31 to finalise their retentions ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction, whose dates and venue are yet to be confirmed.

(IANS)

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