File photo of Yuvraj Singh© BCCI/Sportzpics
With mentor Rick Ponting's exit from the Delhi Capitals confirmed ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, the franchise has been looking to hire an Indian coach at the helm. Though Delhi also have Sourav Ganguly as part of the support staff, they reportedly want to hire Yuvraj Singh, one of the finest middle-order batters India have had in white-ball cricket, as the replacement for Ponting ahead of the start of the new season. Yuvraj was earlier linked to a move to the Gujarat Titans as well.
Yuvraj, an iconic name in Indian cricket, hasn't had much top-tier coaching experience. But, the Delhi franchise is keen to add him to the support staff roster, hoping to see him do what Ashish Nehra did at Gujarat Titans. Nehra too was linked with a move away from GT, prompting the franchise to eye Yuvraj as his replacement. But, according to Sportstar, Nehra is likely to continue at GT, with Yuvraj now top on the wishlist of DC, who are yet to win an IPL title.
Yuvraj is quite an experienced campaigner, with as many as 40 Tests, 304 ODIs, and 58 T20Is under his resume. He was also a key member of India's successful campaigns in the 2007 ICC World T20 and the 2011 ODI World Cup.
If Yuvraj does decide to join DC, he will have a familiar face in Ganguly to support him. Dada is designated as the Director of Cricket Operations at the franchise. There were rumours of him taking up the coaching job too, but that didn't materialise.
Yuvraj, though unofficially, has helped players like Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill and a few others take their game to the next level. The batting pair has often credited Yuvi with bringing a positive change in their game. Can Yuvraj create a similar impact as the full-time coach at Delhi Capitals? It would be interesting to see.