Did AB de Villiers Call Delhi Daredevils a Toxic Franchise?

With 18 years of IPL coming to an end, there are only two teams that have not managed to win the title even once, Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings. Both teams have surely changed their names, but their destiny still remains the same, as RCB also won its first title this season. Punjab Kings, on the other hand, has remained strong, with two appearances in the finals.

However, there is still one name left, which is Delhi Daredevils or Delhi Capitals, a team which has made it to the finals just once in their IPL history. Only managing to reach the playoffs six times across all the seasons, the team missed out on multiple opportunities to win the title and end the jinx.

It definitely can’t be said that Delhi Capitals didn’t possess any good talent, as various known players and big names have been a part of the team. But none of them has been able to ensure that the team ends its title jinx in the IPL as soon as possible. Due to this reason, their fans have also started to get a lot frustrated, as the team starts the season well but struggles to continue the form.

Recently, in an interview, AB de Villiers revealed that Delhi Daredevils, in its initial stages, had a toxic environment in the pavilion. He also said that some cancerous players polluted the team’s environment, leading to the struggles in the 2008-10 seasons. Let’s take a look at the revelations by AB de Villiers in detail.

Toxic Players, Toxic Environment

In his interview, de Villiers was asked about his initial stages in the IPL, when he played for Delhi Daredevils from 2008 to 2010. He said:

I’d hate to give you names — burning people, you know — but the Delhi Daredevils were in shambles. There were a lot of poisonous characters in that team.

Although he hasn’t taken the names of any specific player, it would be tough to take guesses. Till then, here are the players who were a part of the team from 2008 to 2010.

Player	Season	Player	Season
Virender Sehwag	2008-10	Amit Mishra	2008-10
Gautam Gambhir	2008-10	Mohammad Asif	2008
AB de Villiers	2008-10	Pradeep Sangwan	2008-10
Dinesh Karthik	2008-10	David Warner	2009-10
Shikhar Dhawan	2008	Paul Collingwood	2009-10
Manoj Tiwary	2008-09	Andrew McDonald	2009-10
Tejashwi Yadav	2008-09	Ashish Nehra	2009-10
Rajat Bhatia	2008-10	Dirk Nannes	2009-10
Tillakaratne Dilshan	2008-10	Umesh Yadav	2009-10
Farvees Maharoof	2008-10	Wayne Parnell	2010
Yo Mahesh	2008-10	Moises Henriques	2010
Mithun Manhas	2008-10	Kedar Jadhav	2010
Yogesh Nagar	2008-09	Sarabjit Ladda	2010
Shoaib Malik	2008	Joginder Singh	2010
Mayank Tehlan	2008	Shashi Ranjan	2010
Daniel Vettori	2008-09	Sarandeep Singh	2010
Glenn McGrath	2008-09

In his time with the Delhi Daredevils, AB de Villiers surely played with tons of quality players such as Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, and many more. However, he didn’t take any specific names but mentioned the phrase burning people, which means that there were internal issues within the team related to the form of players.

He also talked about the way in which the selectors were confused over his selection to the squad, as he didn’t find consistency regarding his place in the team. In the inaugural IPL season, he played just 6 matches for the team and scored 95 runs only, which is typically not the AB we know. However, his form reached a new level in the 2009 season, where he scored 465 runs in 15 matches at an average of 51.66.

AB de Villiers, when asked about the 2009 season, said:

2009 was nice. I played almost the entire season in South Africa, came back, and I thought I was going to be the man. Then, all of a sudden, I wasn’t playing again. It was mixed feelings.

This makes it clear that the scenario in the locker room of the Delhi Daredevils was not good at all, which also includes some fake promises from the top administration of the team. It should be noted that AB de Villiers didn’t take any specific names, and also suggested to better not to make any guesses for the same.

AB de Villiers on the Greats

In the interview, AB de Villiers also revealed that not all players of the Delhi Daredevils were creating a toxic environment in the team. He added that there were a number of names that he looked forward to, and started to admire them in his initial days in the Indian Premier League.

Sharing the locker room with some legendary stars, he said:

There were lots of legends, which makes it a bittersweet memory for me. I still remember those times fondly. Some of the highlights of my life and career came during that stint-especially spending time with guys like Glenn McGrath and Daniel Vettori. These were my heroes growing up, and I was honestly a bit scared of them.

De Villiers also talked about his interaction with Glenn McGrath, saying:

I’m sitting here in 2008 and (McGrath) sits next to me and goes, “I like the way you play.” So from those highs to also realising there’s some cancerous characters inside, no need to mention names. It was a very bittersweet three years for me.

Such moments did create a positive environment for AB de Villiers in the Delhi Daredevils locker room, but he found more buddies when he changed teams and went to RCB in 2011. Even after his retirement from the IPL and international formats, de Villiers still receives immense love and support from the RCB fans and players.

Retention Promise Broken

One more shocking revelation made by AB de Villiers was about his retention in the IPL 2011 season. In IPL 2010, de Villiers didn’t receive regular chances to play for the team, as he played one game and missed out on the other, which created a ruckus for the team’s batting line-up and his performances.

On his retention, he revealed:

2009 was nice. I played almost the entire season in South Africa, came back, and I thought I was going to be the man. Then, all of a sudden, I wasn’t playing again. It was mixed feelings. I was told I would be retained, and then the next minute, I saw myself in the auction. I didn’t even know what had happened. So many weird things went on.

After this, AB de Villiers was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore and played for the team till his retirement. Maybe it was destiny for de Villiers, which took him from a team with a toxic environment to a team where he found a family. In RCB, he got along with players such as Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and many more, playing a crucial role for the team in all the campaigns.

How Delhi Daredevils Struggled in IPL 2008-10?

Delhi Daredevils, the team that faced various issues internally, had a promising start in the Indian Premier League. In its inaugural IPL season, it was led by Virender Sehwag, and the team was able to make it to the playoffs from the 4th spot. However, they suffered a big defeat against Rajasthan Royals in the semi-final match, which ended their campaign.

Even in the IPL 2009 season, the dominance continued for Delhi Daredevils, as they took lessons from the previous season. They topped the league stages with 20 points under the captaincy of Virender Sehwag. However, things didn’t change for them in the playoffs as they lost to Deccan Chargers in the first semi-final by 6 wickets.

With consecutive losses in the semi-final, Gautam Gambhir was announced as the new captain of the team. Unfortunately, this made things even worse for them, as in IPL 2010, Delhi Daredevils finished at the 5th spot in the league stages, missing out on the playoffs just due to the net run rate. Analysts say that the captaincy changes have also been the major reason for the team’s downfall in the initial stages.

Talent, But No Trophy

The revelations made by the Proteas star AB de Villiers show the reasons why Delhi Daredevils or Delhi Capitals have not been able to win an IPL title, despite playing all the seasons. There might be chances that such issues still persist in the team’s locker room, and the retention aspect has been true for most of the players who have remained a part of the franchise. They have let go of various star players such as AB de Villiers, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and many more, who could have helped the team to win its inaugural title. Taking a look at the team’s current condition in the IPL, it can be said that the upcoming seasons will be challenging for the team and its fans.