After stepping down as Delhi Daredevils skipper on Wednesday, Gautam Gambhir addressed the media in Delhi and took full responsibility for the team’s performance. “I take full responsibility for the position we are in. And looking at the position, I have decided to step down as captain. Shreyas Iyer will take over. I still feel we have the team to turn things around this IPL,” he said.

“Absolutely my decision. I was the one who initiated the meeting (with the team owners). I thought that I haven’t contributed enough and at the same time, the performance of the team… I had to take the responsibility being the leader of the ship. So, I feel that it was the right time,” Gambhir said.

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Gambhir also further said that Delhi is still in the competition.

“We’re very much in this competition. It was absolutely my decision, no pressure from the franchise, they’ve been absolutely sportive about it, sometimes when your conscience says it’s the right time, you just take that (call),” added Gambhir.

After getting announced as the new captain of the team, Shreyas Iyer said, “I just got the news today afternoon and I wasn’t thinking much about it. I’m really loving the responsibility they’ve put upon me and also the faith they’ve shown upon me. I love facing challenges and it’s a great opportunity for me to prove myself and get the team to the highest level possible.”

Delhi Daredevils coach Ricky Ponting said, “It’s my job, it’s Gautam’s job and it’s all the players’ job to make Shreyas’ job as easy as possible on the field. There are a couple of training days before the game comes around and it’s our job as coaches to make sure they train hard and train well and are prepared for what’s going to come in the game. A big part of coaching is to make sure that captain has got everything he needs to be well-prepared for the challenge.”

“There’s no extra pressure on Shreyas at all. He’s going to play the way he’s been playing. He’s been playing terrifically well and that’s what we want to create around our team. We want to have a nice and relaxed environment; sure things are getting tougher for us, but it’s just a great challenge that we’ve got and with a new young captain, we’re all excited to see how it works out for us in the next few weeks,” Ponting concluded.