Ajit Agarkar, Shane Watson leave Delhi Capitals after franchise’s ninth-place finish in IPL 2023

New Delhi, June 29 The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals announced on Thursday that assistant coaches Ajit Agarkar and Shane Watson have left the side, nearly a month after the team finished ninth in the 2023 season of the tournament.

“You’ll always have a place to call home here. Thank You, Ajit and Watto, for your contributions. All the very best for your future endeavours,” said the franchise on its social media accounts.

Agarkar joined the franchise as an assistant coach in February 2022, with Watson coming in a month later. During their time at Delhi, the franchise didn't manage to make it to the playoffs in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Agarkar has played in 26 Tests, 191 ODIs, and 4 T20Is for India, and was a member of the inaugural Men’s T20 World Cup winning team in 2007.

Agarkar’s departure from Delhi comes at a time when many reports have suggested that the former India fast bowling all-rounder is the frontrunner to fill the one vacant spot left in the five-member senior men’s selection committee, post the resignation by previous chief selector Chetan Sharma in February.

In IPL 2023, Delhi, captained by David Warner in the absence of injured Rishabh Pant, could win only five out of 14 matches, ending the tournament in the ninth position. In IPL 2022, Delhi finished in fifth place, missing the playoffs.

Delhi’s co-owner Path Jindal had said on June 14 that the franchise has kickstarted its preparations for next year’s IPL with head coach Ricky Ponting and director of cricket Sourav Ganguly.

“Preparations for next year's @IPL are underway here @DelhiCapitals, alongside @SGanguly99 and @RickyPonting we assure the fans that Kiran and I are working hard to get back to where we want this franchise to be and that is right at the very top,” Jindal had tweeted that time.