Former Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach Mohammad Kaif has revealed the tension between the then-head coach, Ricky Ponting, and the Director of Cricket, Sourav Ganguly. They were at loggerheads regarding the trade of Shikhar Dhawan from the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Ganguly wanted to bring Dhawan back to DC from SRH because he was interested in a strong Indian core to win the titles. Ponting was not in favor of the move because he felt the southpaw had passed his prime and preferred David Warner for the role in the top order.
“We were struck as Ganguly wanted the move to happen, but Ponting was against it. He felt Shikhar Dhawan’s career was over as he was dropped from the Indian team. In the team meeting, it was said that Dhawan can score 500 runs in an IPL season,” Kaif said.
“David Warner was in Hyderabad, and I feel he must have influenced against going with Dhawan. He must have told that Dhawan was not a great player anymore. But Ganguly and Jindal backed Dhawan, and he was back with Delhi Capitals. He proved us right, as Delhi made it to the final that season. I feel Ponting might have regretted that he would have done better as a coach as we didn’t win a title under his coaching,” he added.
In three seasons for Delhi, Dhawan crossed the 500-run mark on all occasions. The franchise released him before the IPL 2022 mega auction.
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