“I was too desperate to turn things around” - When Gautam Gambhir opened up on his decision to step down as Delhi Daredevils captain

During IPL 2018, current Team India coach Gautam Gambhir decided to step down from the role as captain of the Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) midway through the season. The Delhi batter handed over the mantle to batter Shreyas Iyer. Gambhir said he was "too desperate" to turn things around and cited age as a reason to be unable to handle pressure.

In the 2018 IPL season, Gambhir had a homecoming of sorts, with the batter returning back to the Delhi Daredevils for his second stint. However, things didn't go as per plan for him, with the two time IPL winning skipper losing five out of their first six matches.

Ahead of their game against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Gambhir alongside then head coach Ricky Ponting and CEO Hemant Dua, addressed to the media. They announced that Gambhir was going to step down from his role as captain and hand over the responsibility to Shreyas Iyer.

Gambhir said via ESPNCricinfo:

"Maybe the only thing I can point to is, I was too desperate to turn things around. And at times it can backfire as well because sometimes you are too keen and it makes you too hard on yourself. Sometimes you realise that maybe I just couldn't handle the pressure that came with the position, the responsibility I was given."

The Delhi Daredevils finished last in the points table with five wins out of their 14 matches. Shreyas went on to lead the Delhi Capitals to their first appearance in seven years in 2019 before leading them to a maiden final appearance in 2020.

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Gautam Gambhir's numbers as IPL captain

Gautam Gambhir has been known to be one of IPL's most successful skippers. He had led the Delhi Capitals and the Kolkata Knight Riders in 129 matches combined, winning 71 matches and having a win percentage of 55.03.

Gambhir has also won the IPL twice, with the batter leading the Knight Riders to glory in 2012 and 2014. He won the IPL title the first time in 2012 beating the Chennai Super Kings in the finals followed by a win in the summit clash against the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in 2014.