Former India all-rounder Ajit Agarkar was on Wednesday announced as the new assistant coach of the JSW and GMR co-owned franchise Delhi Capitals ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
Commenting on his association with the Capitals, an elated Agarkar said: “I am very excited to be part of Delhi Capitals squad for this season. I have been lucky enough to be a player and to be returning in a different capacity. It’s obviously very exciting. We have a young and terrific squad led by one of the most talented players in the world – Rishabh Pant.”
“And the coach Ricky Ponting has been a legend of the game. Looking forward to working with them, can’t wait to get started and creating some special memories,” he added.
The 44-year-old, with 288 ODI and 58 Test wickets to his name, had earlier represented Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Daredevils (DD) in the cash-rich league.
Agarkar will now join the Delhi Capitals coaching staff comprising Ricky Ponting (Head Coach), Pravin Amre (Assistant Coach) and James Hopes (Bowling Coach). He will join the team after completing his commentating duties for India’s home series against Sri Lanka beginning on Thursday in Lucknow.
The IPL 2022, which will now be a ten-team affair following the addition of the two new teams, is most likely to begin on April 2 in Chennai.
Although the fixtures of the upcoming season have not been finalised yet however, the board had internally conveyed to the key stakeholders that the board is planning to start the 16th edition of the lucrative league on April 2 in Chennai.
As the next season will have a total of 74 games, the BCCI has discussed internally that the length of the season will be for over 60 days. As a result, the final could be played in the first weekend of June.