Virender Sehwag, dropped recently from India’s Test side, has said his decision to give up the Delhi Daredevils captaincy will have no effect on his batting in the upcoming IPL season. Mahela Jayawardene was named Daredevils captain after Sehwag told the franchise he wanted to focus on his batting ahead of the Champions League 2012.
“I don’t think it matters whether I am captaining the side or not,” Sehwag told PTI, when asked if Jayawardene taking over would lessen the burden on him. “Captaincy has never affected my game. I have never ever felt the pressure on my batting while leading the side. I have never felt any pressure as captain. My approach to batting has always remained the same.
“I have always maintained that captaincy and performance are two separate issues altogether. If you talk about pressures of captaincy, then I had scored five consecutive half-centuries [a Twenty20 record] during the last edition of the IPL and the highest number of runs for Delhi Daredevils.”
Sehwag admitted that Daredevils would feel the absence of England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who is out of this IPL with a knee injury. “KP is a big occasion player and he will certainly be missed but we have other players who can put their hands up and be counted. We have 10 quality foreign players and whoever replaces him in the XI will get an opportunity to make a name for himself on the big stage. If they can grab their chance and prove their worth, we can win the trophy.”
Daredevils meet Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural match of this season in Kolkata on April 3.
Brett Lee excited by mentorship role: Brett Lee has said he is “pleased and proud” to be given the bowling mentor’s role for Kolkata Knight Riders and is looking forward to juggling his dual role as mentor and opening bowler. The former Australia fast bowler replaced Wasim Akram as bowling mentor for the side after the latter opted to take a year’s break.
“I’m really proud and pleased to have been given the bowling mentor’s role. My job is to try and impart knowledge to the guys,” he told the Telegraph. “Even though it might seem a short span of time, we’ll still have eight weeks in hand. Lots of cricket will be played during this period. And from what I saw during nets today, each of the players look in good nick.”
KKR’s bowling was crucial to their victory last season and the side relied heavily on offspinner Sunil Narine. Lee said that Jacques Kallis could turn out to be an important bowler for KKR this season. “We have lots of key bowlers in our squad,” he said. “Guys like (Lakshmipathy) Balaji, (Pradeep) Sangwan are quite capable and ready to step up. Then there’s Kallis, who’s one of the best cricketers in the world. There simply cannot be any doubt about his ability with the bat. But with the ball, too, Kallis will play a huge role in determining the fortunes of the team.”
Lee also expressed his confidence about KKR captain Gautam Gambhir’s form going into the IPL. Gambhir was dropped for the first two Tests against Australia and missed out on selection for the remaining Tests after suffering from jaundice.
Dravid happy to have Watson at the start: Rahul Dravid has said Rajasthan Royals will be bolstered by the presence of Shane Watson, who is expected to join the team in time for the side’s second game against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 8.
“Watson brings a lot of quality to the team,” Dravid told the Times of India. “Last year, we missed him for the first eight or nine games. This time, we are lucky that way. If we can play to our potential, we should be able to do pretty well.” He also added that Watson may be promoted to open the innings with Ajinkya Rahane.
Rajasthan had a poor campaign last year, finishing seventh in the points table. Royals coach Paddy Upton was upbeat about the prospects of the squad in the IPL this season. “It is essential to work out a fine balance between team and individual performance,” Upton told the Hindu. “Our focus is to play at our level best and deliver top performances throughout the season. We as a team provide space to our players to take their own decisions, judge their performance, and together we all help each other to execute these decisions on field. We try to not only improve the sporting skills in our players, but also help and groom their overall personality.”
Rajasthan Royals’ fast bowler Shaun Tait, who played in six games last season, picking up six wickets at 25.16, alluded to where they had gone wrong, “We were not up to the mark in the death overs during the previous season. I enjoy bowling at the death but plans work out at times, and some times they don’t. I would again enjoy bowling at death.
“We hope for a top-four finish this time. We have worked on a few grey areas like death bowling and have few more options in attack. The likes of James Faulkner would lend us more bowling strength. We have a good relationship and we mix it up well and help each other.”
Tait, who possesses plenty of pace but sometimes loses accuracy as a result, acknowledged that he is working on the issue. “I know I was erratic at times, but I have worked on this. My foot was popping out of the bowling crease, but recently I had improved in the Big Bash and Bangladesh Premier league. I plan to bowl a lot straighter and keep things simple.”