Delhi Daredevils changes name to Delhi Capitals; ropes in Kaif and Amre as coaching staff

What's in a name? And why the need for a change of a name once fondly given? Ask IPL's Delhi franchisee and you will know exactly why ahead of Indian Premier League 2019 they changed their team's name from Delhi Daredevils to Delhi Capitals.

Reeling under the constant pressure for non-performance for over a decade now, the change of name became necessitated hoping that it will probably change the fortunes of the team and bring in some much-needed good luck. 

"Daredevils name was no longer suiting our team and its performance. We also needed to change the attitude of the team as well. So we thought to change its attitude from Daredevils," a top official from the team told Republic TV, adding that with the change of name they expect a change of its fortune as well.

READ: 2019 IPL Auction To Be Held In Jaipur On December 18

On being questioned about the strategy behind choosing 'Capitals' for the name, the official failed to give an appropriate logic behind it.

Delhi Daredevils record in the 11 years of IPL history can be termed as one of the worst, with the team best reached the top four only once. Out of the 10 times in the league in which the team failed to impress us with their game, they finished at the bottom three times, while closed at second last four times.

READ: IPL 2019 Expected To Be Held Early To Keep Indians Fresh For World Cup 2019

Furthermore, desperate to reverse its downslide, 'Delhi Capitals' roped in Mohammad Kaif as an assistant coach and Pravin Amre as a talent scout for the team who will assist Ricky Ponting, who will continue to be the head coach of the team.

Interestingly, the franchise also decided to continue with Shreyas Iyer as the captain of the team (ahead of Shikhar Dhawan) for his leadership capabilities which came in the forefront in the last season.

Meanwhile, the player auction ahead of the 2019 Indian Premier League will be held in Jaipur, Rajasthan on December 18, the BCCI announced on Monday. Only 70 players, including 50 Indians and 20 overseas players will be up for grabs with eight teams left with a total purse of Rs 145.25 crore.