IPL 2018: Players returning to their original franchises

#2 Gautam Gambhir (Delhi Daredevils)

Gambhir captained DD in 2010

Just when his association with the City of Joy was threatening to surpass Gautam Gambhir's bond with hometown Delhi, he decided to leave Kolkata Knight Riders and become, by his own admission, a "proper Delhi boy" once again.

Gambhir was at the peak of his career when Delhi Daredevils released him ahead of the 2011 player auction, a move which didn't go down well with him as he openly expressed his disappointment.

When KKR splurged USD 2.4 million on Gambhir at the 2011 auction, it was clear that they had chosen him to lead KKR to glory after three forgettable years. Through his aggressive captaincy style and a passion-filled intensity, he led KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, besides playoff appearances in three other seasons. With the bat, he emerged as a solid contributor at the top of the order and became KKR's all-time leading run-scorer.

However ahead of IPL 2018, when he was not retained by KKR, it surprised everyone and raised speculations about his IPL future. A clarification from KKR CEO Venky Mysore after the auction revealed that Gambhir wanted to face a "new challenge" waiting for him, and accordingly, his desire to not be retained drove the franchise to act upon the same,

In the last phase of his career, Gambhir clearly wants to complete an unfinished job from 2010: to lead his home franchise to their maiden IPL title.

DD have reasons to be optimistic about their chances of ending their trophy drought in 2018: a solid, well-balanced squad; a successful and experienced IPL captain; and in Ricky Pointing, an IPL-winning coach as well.

It will be very interesting to see Gambhir putting in his best efforts to earn DD the title that has so far eluded them, but it will be equally strange to watch a KKR team not being led by him.