Delhi Daredevils coach Gary Kirsten feels that the addition of experienced players like Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh will add great value to the team during the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League scheduled to begin from 8th April.
After a disastrous season last year, Kirsten, who is in to his second season as the coach of the Delhi-based franchise, is looking forward to a good tournament with new set of players and a new captain, JP Duminy.
"I am looking forward to it. It has been
a tough two seasons. We have put together a nice squad, there are some senior players around the world, exciting youngsters and we have got a nicely balanced team," said the former South African opener.
The franchise went for an overhaul of the team for the second consecutive year and out of the squad of 25, they have retained only 11 players from last season. Big buys of last year - captain Kevin Pietersen and Dinesh Karthik - were let go of and this year they have added the likes of Zaheer, Yuvraj and Angelo Mathews to the team, which according to Kirsten, will benefit the franchise.
"I had a great experience working with Yuvraj in the Indian team. He is fit as he has ever been. For me, I really wanted him in this team as he is from this part of the world. I dont think there is a guy more motivated than Yuvraj. So I think we can have a lot of fun, kind of he can add value," said Kirsten about the allrounder, while taking about Zaheer the former India coach stated that his role will also be to mentor the young bowlers in the team.
"Experience is the one word. He would be working in a space with some good youngsters around. They can bring in great value. I want him to play a kind of mentoring role within the team," said Kirsten. "He obviously wants to keep playing and has some aspirations in his game. He is aware that he needs to prove his worth. He has great experience and good ideas of T20 bowling."
Duminy, the most successful player for DD in IPL 7 will lead the team and on being asked about choosing him as the skipper, Kirsten said that he was an automatic choice. "He is a fantastic human being. He has started captaining the T20 team of South Africa. We wanted continuity as he has played for the franchise and knows a lot of Indian players. It was a natural choice. He has got good leadership credentials," added Kirsten.
DD have also roped in T20 veteran Alfonso Thomas as their bowling coach and Kirsten feels that his wealth of knowledge will help the bowlers in the tournament. Thomas,38, is the fourth highest wicket-taker in T20 matches with 248 scalps from 214 matches. DD will being their IPL 8 campaign against Chennai Super Kings on 9th April at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
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