Sourav Ganguly might be the BCCI President, but he will also remembered as the mentor of Delhi Capitals last season, said DC CEO Dhiraj Malhotra also said that ‘Dada’ will definitely be missed. While speaking to IANS, Malhotra shared their plans before the auction on December 19.
“We will really miss him (Sourav). Not only is he an intelligent and sharp administrator, he is also a great human being. Just having him in the dressing room, in the dug-out, having him as part of the squad, having him talking to the boys, it was so inspirational. The boys were really motivated by him,” he told.
“It didn’t matter if you were a senior or junior, he was there for everyone. He reads the game really well, one of the shrewdest cricketing brains there is there. With head coach Ricky Ponting, he had a big tactical role to play and he will definitely be missed,” he said.
The team will miss the services of Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting as well. Ponting will not be available for his prior commitment in Australia.
“We have taken inputs from the players, unfortunately our coach will not be there as he has some prior commitments in Australia. He was down for two days and he has also given us his strategy. You know in the auction it also depends on what the other franchises do. We have already made the strategies and the amount we will spend on which player. It will be a collective decision-making process,” he shared.
“If you look at our team, we got a good mix and are looking at one or two players we can pick up at the auction to balance the team. Can’t tell you the names and strategy, but looking to take forward the good work we did last season. We would be looking at a few all-rounders and definitely some fast bowlers,” he revealed.
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On the other hand, Dhiraj Malhotra said that the idea is to build a legacy like the other most successful IPL teams — Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
“Definitely the plan is to keep the core same as we have quite a few young guns in Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and now we have R. Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan. We were the youngest team in the competition last year and we would like to continue and grow just like say a CSK does or a MI does really well,” he said.
Dhiraj further said: “They bring a lot of experience and you know apart from winning and doing well, we have been also looking at building a family and fan base. These two are team players and bring a lot of value to the franchise with their experience. Having spoken to both, I know they want to contribute. They are raring to go. Even though you speak about experience when you take those names, I see exuberance and the spark. Can’t wait for them to come in and guide us with their wealth of knowledge.”
Although there is not much known yet about the policy that the BCCI will add in the 2021 season and if there will be new teams adding, Dhiraj said that they’re currently focusing on the 2020 season.
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“There is always pressure to perform. But it is also important to gel well and build a good team. The only confusion we have right now is that we don’t know what will happen in the 2021 season. So, the team we are building now is for the 2020 season. I don’t know how many players we will be able to retain and what will be the policy. So right now, we are looking at this year,” he expressed.
“We mean business. Wish to make sure that the coach is happy with the players we pick and then go on to win hearts with our performance. Be more consistent and maybe hold the cup at the end of the season,” he explained.
An important area to focus for DC will be their batting order as Rahane has come in who is generally batted successfully at the top of the order. They already have Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw at the top. But the CEO says all the match related calls will be taken by Ponting and the coaching team only.
“It will all depend on the situation of the game and we are lucky to have Ricky Ponting with us and he is very smart and will see how things work. It depends when the wicket falls, what the run-rate is and that is how the coaching staff will take the call. There is no set rule that someone will bat at a particular position and it is more about the demand of the team,” he said.
“It is very important because they are the ones who guide the team and they are the ones youngsters look up to. Yes, the youngsters bring the energy and raw talent. In the end of the day, the seniors with their experience and knowledge guide the team,” Dhiraj Malhotra concluded.
