The Bollywood celebrity Akshay Kumar was chosen by DD to be the team’s face in the inaugural season back in 2008. The Delhi Capitals have over the years had several excellent players. But they have let go of a lot of people without giving them a long rope. Numerous legends of the game, including Kevin Pietersen, AB de Villiers, Andre Russell, Yuvraj Singh, and many others, have briefly played for an Indian Premier League side before being released.
Akshay Kumar prevented DD from suffering significant losses by canceling a lucrative three-year deal he had signed with the team, according to Amrit Mathur, the former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) General Manager, who recently wrote about the incident in his autobiography, “Pitchside: My Life in Indian Cricket.”
Northern Indian team, formerly known as the Delhi Daredevils, featured Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in their ranks when the Indian Premier League began. For this franchise, numerous more A-list athletes also played.
“Akshay Kumar inked a three-year contract with Delhi Daredevils to film commercials, go to meet-and-greets, and make appearances at business functions.
DD didn’t know how to use him, so aside from the Kotla act (which involved him performing risky stunts), not much happened. According to Mathur, who at one time in 2009 also served as DD’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), the company chose to cancel or renegotiate the contract at the end of the season during an exhaustive post-mortem that was held against the backdrop of significant financial losses.
“Akshay’s contract did not provide for an out; rather, it guaranteed him strong guarantees for a three-year period. Akshay’s staff was approached by DD’s attorneys in an attempt to revisit the contract, but they were unsuccessful. His side’s (legally valid) position was that the contract had run its course with full monetary recompense and that early termination was not taken into account.
A kind Akshay Kumar advised Amrit Mathur, “If it’s not working, let’s close it.”
The management of the Delhi Daredevils assigned Mathur the task of explaining to Akshay Kumar their financial problems and attempting to find a resolution. When the legendary actor and the former Indian team manager met, the actor was informed of the problem. To Mathur’s surprise, Akshay made the decision to break the contract without second thought.
\”After the shot, we went back to his vanity van, where I nervously stated why I had come and what was wrong with DD’s finances. No issue, ji, he (Akshay) remarked sympathetically. Let’s shut it down if it isn’t functioning.I believed I hadn’t understood him correctly,’ Mathur wrote.
Isko khatam kar dete hain (let us stop this),” Akshay said gently after observing my bewildered expression. He comforted me when I complained about the strict contract provisions by saying, “Koi baat nahi, main lawyer ko bol dunga (No problem, I will tell the lawyer),” Mathur said.
This undoubtedly was a thoughtful move on the part of the well-known actor and demonstrates why he is one of the nation’s most adored figures.
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