Ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, JSW-GMR co-owned Delhi Capitals announced the appointment of Hemang Badani as Head Coach and Venugopal Rao as Director of Cricket for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025).
Badani replaces Ricky Ponting, who amicably parted ways recently after seven seasons as head coach. While Rao takes over the role performed in the past few years by former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who joined JSW Sports as Director of Cricket.
The appointments come after JSW Sports and GMR Sports announced an understanding to run the cricketing operations of the Delhi Capitals IPL (Men) and the Delhi Capitals WPL (Women) teams on a two-year rotational basis.
Venugopal Rao, who played 16 ODIs for India, was a part of the 2009 IPL winning squad with Deccan Chargers and played 3 seasons of the IPL with Delhi Daredevils (2011-13). He has also been part of the Dubai Capitals family, serving as a mentor in the inaugural season and Director of Cricket in the next.
Badani, who represented India in 4 Tests and 40 ODIs, brings with him an impressive coaching profile across leagues. Between 2021-23, he worked with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL as a fielding coach and a batting coach in successive seasons. He also coached the Jaffna Kings franchise to two consecutive Lankan Premier League titles. Badani also worked as a batting coach with the title-winning Sunrisers Eastern Cape side in the inaugural edition of the SA20. The 47-year-old was also Head Coach of the Dubai Capitals side that reached this year’s ILT20 final.
Kiran Kumar Grandhi, Chairman & Co-owner, Delhi Capitals said, “We are delighted to welcome Hemang and Venu to Delhi Capitals. Both have been an integral part of our team for a long time, and we’re excited to have them on board in a different role. With their proven track record as coaches, we’re confident that their expertise will be invaluable in helping us achieve our objectives and drive success for Delhi Capitals.”
“My association with the franchise has been a long-standing one, and I am thankful for the trust our owners have placed in me by offering me this role. I look forward to this new challenge ahead of a new IPL cycle,” said Venugopal Rao.
Speaking on the occasion, Badani said, “It’s my absolute honour to be joining Delhi Capitals, and I’m deeply grateful to our owners for trusting me with the job. With the mega auction around the corner, my job, in collaboration with the rest of our coaching staff, is cut out. I can’t wait to get started.”
Welcoming the new coaching staff, DC CEO Sunil Gupta said, “Hemang and Venu have both been a part of the Capitals family, and are well-versed with our philosophy. We’re looking forward to working with them and achieving great things for Delhi Capitals.”
