Hemang Badani appointed as Delhi Capitals' new head coach
Former India batter, Hemang Badani, has been appointed as the head coach of the Indian Premier League team, Delhi Capitals (DC), for the 2025 season. Ex-cricketer Venugopal Rao will join him as the Director of Cricket for the franchise. The decision comes as part of a strategic overhaul by DC's ownership to revamp their coaching staff and operational structure. Here's more.
Badani succeeds Ponting, Rao replaces Ganguly
Badani replaces Ricky Ponting, who parted ways with DC after seven seasons as head coach. Venugopal Rao replaces Sourav Ganguly, the former director of cricket for the franchise. The management has also decided against renewing the contract of Pravin Amre, who served as assistant coach and talent scout since 2014. These changes will help DC break its IPL title drought.
Badani and Rao bring extensive cricket experience
Badani has a rich coaching experience from domestic and international T20 leagues. He had previously guided Chepauk Super Gillies to three Tamil Nadu Premier League titles and was part of Sunrisers Eastern Cape's SA20 title win in 2023. Rao, who played 16 One Day Internationals for India, was part of the Deccan Chargers's IPL-winning squad in 2009. He has also been the mentor and director of cricket for Dubai Capitals.
New operational strategy for Delhi Capitals's ownership
DC's co-owners, GMR Group and JSW Sports, will switch leadership roles every two years between their IPL and WPL teams. GMR Group will handle the men's team, while JSW Sports will take care of the women's team. Ganguly will move to director of cricket for the WPL during this time. The franchise said "key decisions like auctions, captaincy, player release and retentions" will be taken by their board with inputs from senior leadership of both ownership groups.
