Emphasis on youth, says Delhi IPL team

Emphasis on youth, says Delhi IPL team


Chennai, Feb. 22: The names bought by Delhi Daredevils might not be as dazzling as some other IPL franchises. What they may have quietly achieved is to string together a combination that is cut out for the shortest format.

Delhi have a number of players from the sub-continent and the team think-tank has its reasons for picking them. "Matches are going to be played in oppressive conditions and players from the sub-continent are used to this humidity more than others. That is why we also wanted a young team," said T.A. Sekar, vice-president, cricket operations of the GMR group that owns the Delhi franchise.

Fielding and athleticism were high on the wishlist of the Delhi side and they can be proud of the fact they have the best fielding unit among the eight teams. They are moving well in other directions too. They have appointed Victoria coach Greg Shipperd as the head coach and skipper Virender Sehwag has already had a detailed meeting with the coach Down Under.

The GMR group has also put in place support staff. "It is important they work as a team and know each other well. David Hacker, assistant coach of Victoria will play the same role here. The job becomes easier as they can communicate better," explained Sekar who added Shipperd was preferred as he knew the science of T20 cricket better than others having been a part of a very successful Victoria T20 team.

One area the Delhi unit could find the going tough is the bowling department. All the specialist bowlers are foreigners. With only four foreigners allowed to play a game, Delhi could be hard pressed. A local bowler has to stand up to the demands or else Sehwag has to bowl his full quota in most of the games.

Sekar, who is relatively happy with the composition of the side, however feels Delhi missed out on Albie Morkel who was snapped up by Chennai. "He is a fine all-rounder and would have been a good asset to the side." However Chennai’s Dinesh Karthik, the only Tamil Nadu player in the present Indian side, went to Delhi. "Dinesh is an intelligent cricketer and along with Ab De Villers gives us the option of two wicketkeeper-batsmen," noted Sekar.

Delhi are expected to assemble in the first week of April for a short preparatory camp. Members of the Indian Test team will however join only a few days before the IPL kicks off. The side might be without marquee names but there are enough hints that Delhi Daredevils might emerge as the dark horses.