The Australian legend seemed full of energy and made sure his troops were upbeat as well. Speaking post a three-hour nets session, Ponting said the conditions were draining but his team was happy to be back together.
“The attitude from the start has been amazing, and today was no exception. It was hot and quite draining for the players but coming off on the back of a good season last year, you would expect the mood to be upbeat – and I was delighted to see that and it felt awesome to be back in the team environment, and I think there’s no better place than to be in the Delhi Capitals camp at the moment,” said the Head Coach.
Weather conditions will be a challenge this season for franchises, which Ponting said can be overcome by managing training sessions better, “We’ve got a smaller squad so I want to sort of manage our training sessions differently than we did last year. I’ve made it clear to the boys that we are not going to over-train in the first three weeks. I believe our preparation leading up to the first game is critical. I want to make sure that physically, technically and tactically the boys are peaking for the first game.”
Complimenting newer recruits Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane, the Australian great said the duo will add a lot of experience to the squad. “Both of them are class players, and have been long-term Indian players. Ashwin has been one of the most successful spinners in IPL history, and Rahane has led Rajasthan for a long time as well. They have all sorts of skill, class and experience which they’ll add to our squad. We all know how important experience is in T20 cricket, and we understand that. We’ve got a young captain in Shreyas, but to have those older, more experienced minds on the ground will help us a lot.”
-Tapas Bhattacharya
