I did not drop Gamhhir, he sat out: Shreyas Iyer

New Delhi, April 28: Delhi Daredevils skipper Shreyas Iyer said he had not made the decision to omit Gautam Gambhir from the playing eleven and rather it was the decision of the former captain himself.

Gambhir had resigned from the Daredevils' captaincy a couple of days ago after going through a lean patch and the team ended up on the bottom of the IPL points table.

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"I didn't make any call to be honest. It wasn't my decision to drop him. He himself decided to sit out, which was really courageous decision with him being the captain in the previous matches.

"The respect for him has gone really high. It's really [good to] see when a captain, if he's not playing well, he backs out. Colin [Munro] came in and gave us the desired start," said Shreyas in the post match press do on Friday (April 27).

Colin Munro and Prithvi Shaw put on a fine opening partnership of 59 - the team's highest so far in this edition of the IPL, Shreyas Iyer along with Glenn Maxwell used the platform to fire Daredevils to a match-winning 219 for four and eventually to a 55-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders.

When quizzed about the difference between the two sides, Shreyas Iyer said the start that his team managed to get was the deciding factor.

"It's just that we got a good start. Everyone was aware of what they had to do and contributed really well. It was a team effort. It wasn't an individual game. Everyone stepped up to the mark and started taking responsibility," he said.

Gambhir's decision to quit captaincy had sparked widespread appreciation for his courageous move.

"I take full responsibility for the position we are in. And looking at the position, I have decided to step down as captain. Shreyas Iyer will take over. I still feel we have the team to turn things around this IPL," Gambhir had said while addressing the media in Delhi on Wednesday.

"It was absolutely my decision. The management didn't pressurise at all. It was the right time to step down," added Gambhir, who had won two IPL crowns as captain with Kolkata Knight Riders.

"As a leader of the ship, I take complete responsibility for where we are in the points table. But we believe we can turn it around. We need to win 7 matches out of next 8 games and we believe that's very much possible in this format," Gambhir had said.