New Delhi, Oct 7 — Newly-appointed Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday said he is excited to take on his new role and pledged to give his best to make the franchise successful in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Ganguly shares a long-standing association with DC across various capacities. The former India captain served as DC's mentor during the 2019 season before stepping away to assume the role of BCCI President. After that, Ganguly was subsequently appointed as JSW's director of cricket in 2024.
Ganguly, who’s also the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), made his formal coaching debut with Pretoria Capitals in the 2025 SA20 season and has also been actively involved with the DC setup in the Women's Premier League (WPL).
“Well, I'm very, very excited. I've been with them for two seasons, both as director of cricket. The first season in 2019, we lost in the semis and then I went away as BCCI president. So I'm really, really excited for the season ahead.
“It's the next year, IPL, and Delhi is a very good team. This is a very good side, and I'll be giving my best to make the side successful,” Ganguly said in a video shared on the franchise's official YouTube channel on Wednesday.
Asked on what clicked for him to be DC head coach, Ganguly said, “I wanted to experience the mindset of a coach because it's not the same as a player. It's a bit different. You need to understand things. You need to be relaxed. You still need to find a way to get the best out of players and work with the players because players are different.
“It's not you batting or you bowling anymore. It's about somebody else batting and bowling and winning cricket matches. So it's important that you sync with them and understand what they want, how they can get better, and work with them, which is very important,” he explained.
Addressing his lingering drive to guide DC to a championship win, Ganguly insisted that the current group possesses the talent required to go head-to-head with any side in the competition.
“Motivation to take Delhi to the top, we did in 2019. In 2020, Delhi was a very good team. I was involved in making the team, but then I left and became the BCCI president. So from that point of view, that motivation will always remain to take that squad to a different level.
“I think that's what I will be looking out for the players because there's enormous talent in the dressing room. When you go man-to-man with some of the best teams in the competition, Delhi is no way behind. Hopefully with this squad, we'll be able to reach newer heights in the years to come,” he asserted.
Hailing the squad's core, Ganguly highlighted the key addition of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant via a trade earlier this year, alongside a star-studded lineup featuring KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Mitchell Starc, and David Miller.
“We needed a middle-order Indian batter, and Pant fits it perfectly. He was with us. He played well for us in the past. Hopefully this year, next year, when he turns up again, I think he'll use the time and space and the matches to become a better player. He enjoys batting at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, and hopefully we'll see the best of Pant in the years to come for the Delhi shirt.
“It's a good team - KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Stark, Lungi Ngidi, Ashutosh, Miller, Stubbs. So it's a pretty strong team, man and I hope we play to our potential. I hope everyone understands how good they are and goes and expresses themselves. So that's very important for the squad,” he noted.
On the tactical front, Ganguly underlined that T20 cricket demands an uncompromising, aggressive approach while adapting to conditions at their home venue, the Arun Jaitley Stadium. “Well, in T20 cricket, it's only one brand. Keep hitting sixes and keep hitting fours. So that's what the brand is all about and you play accordingly. It's a good wicket at Feroz Shah Kotla.
“You play according to the situation, you play the game and react to the situation, which is most important in sport. So from that point of view, that's the brand we are going to play. We're going to play to win. That's always been the case and hopefully with the squad we have, we'll become successful,” he said.
Calling on the squad to deliver for the franchise management and fans, Ganguly admitted that the team's track record over the last 18 years needs significant improvement. “Parth (Jindal, co-owner) is like my young brother and my relationship with him just goes beyond Delhi Capitals. Delhi Capitals is just a part and with Kiran (Kumar Grandhi, co-owner), I was there in 2019.
“I know he's a gentleman. As they call in the sport, a gentle giant. So as I said, the team deserves better performances. The owners deserve much better than what this franchise has done over the last 17, 18 years. Getting to the final in 2020 and semifinal in 2019, eight years before and four years after that, it hasn't been good.
“So I think as a group, as a unit, as a player, team, they give a lot to us. I think it's time that the Delhi boys give it back to them, give them that happiness, give them that opportunity to rejoice with the squad where they've put in so much time and energy for the years to come,” he concluded.