In the aftermath of their humiliating defeat against Puducherry in the opening match of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2023-24, Delhi has relieved Yash Dhull of his duties as captain.

Delhi opened their campaign against Puducherry at their home ground Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The visitors completely outplayed and outclassed the Yash Dhull-led side to register a famous 9-wicket win. Asked to bat first, Delhi were bowled out for a paltry total of 148 runs in the first innings. No. eight batsman Harsha Tyagi (34) was the only Delhi batter to reach the 30-run mark.

For Puducherry, Gaurav Yadav picked up 7 wickets for 49 runs. In reply, Puducherry scored 244 runs to take a handy lead of 96 runs. Santosh Ratnaparkhe (60) top-scored for the visitors. In the second innings too, Delhi’s batters failed to perform well and the hosts were bowled out for just 145 to set Puducherry a target of 50 runs. The tourists reached the target in less than 14 overs by losing a solitary wicket.

Yash Dhull sacked as Delhi captain:

Following the heavy defeat in the very first game of the season, Delhi have decided to remove Yash Dhull as the captain of the team. They have named Himmat Singh as Yash Dhull’s replacement. He will be in charge of the team when it takes on Jammu and Kashmir in an away game from January 12.

“Yash is a talented player but is out of form. We wanted him to do well as a batter, that is why we have relieved him of captaincy duties. Himmat is our senior player and has done very well for us. He will captain the side,” Delhi and District Cricket Association joint secretary (DDCA) Rajan Manchanda told PTI.

Last season, Himmat had led Delhi to a win over Mumbai in Yash Dhull’s absence. He has played 22 first-class games so far and has scored 1174 runs at an average of 39.13.