NEW DELHI: Feroz Shah Kotla is ready for the Indian Premier League. The floodlights have been installed and the host is ready to welcome the teams for a competition that promises to attract a full house, if the organisers are to be believed.
The sale of tickets will commence soon. “We have priced the tickets quite reasonably,” said the GMR CEO Yogesh Shetty here on Wednesday.
The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) President Arun Jaitley, the driving force behind the capital getting a modern cricket stadium, promised a string of facilities for the spectators.
“I am proud to say that the Kotla is one of the best stadiums in the country. It has been a dream for us to have a world-class venue with all the modern facilities. Today the dream has become a reality,” said Mr. Jaitley as the Kotla wore a resplendent look under floodlights.

The formal inauguration of the floodlit venue would take place on April 15 when Delhi Daredevils meet a Delhi selection team in a Twenty20 contest. The same day DDCA would also honour its Ranji Trophy winning team and also Virender Sehwag for his triple century against South Africa in the Chennai Test.
Mr. Jaitley said the DDCA would also honour Chetan Chahan for being included in the Hall Of Fame by an institute in the United States. Also to be honoured would be the DDCA Sports Secretary Sunil Dev for being the manager of the Indian team at the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 event.

According to Chauhan, some of the past cricketers to have been included in the Hall Of Fame were Garry Sobers, G.R. Viswanath, Sunil Gavaskar, Viv Richards and Michael Holding.

No Virender Sehwag. No AB De Villiers. No Gautam Gambhir. No Mohammad Asif. No Shoaib Malik. No Glenn McGrath, either. Not even Dinesh Karthik. Unlike their glammed-up promotional events, the first practice session of Delhi's Indian Premier League team at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Tuesday was an exercise in frugality.

It was only right, then, that soft-spoken Daredevil Daniel Vettori hogged the limelight at this tentative intermingling. Surprisingly, the Kiwi skipper, who will play under Sehwag here, and like four other New Zealand teammates has been given permission to delay his arrival in England for the Test series till May 1, has no illusions about the role big foreign draws will play in the IPL.

Maybe he has been keeping one eye on how things have panned out on the field for the rebel ICL, where former teammate Shane Bond is plying his trade. "It's unfortunate Shane can't play for New Zealand anymore, it's just one of those things," he said, before getting down to the business end of things. "Only four foreign players can take the field for any given team, so I suppose the squad with the strongest group of Indian players will win. That said, Delhi Daredevils have some pretty talented guys and some very exciting local talent." A new coaching staff and new loyalties ensures some excitement, too.

Vettori was surprisingly candid about how the IPL is being perceived back in New Zealand.

"With concern," he said, unequivocally, "We are a poor cricket board. We have had some exodus to the ICL, too. We know it's a difficult situation. It's hard to refuse when big offers come your way. It's a matter of making sure people still play for their country."

He was also equally forthright about the need to fit IPL into the ICC's Future Tours Programme: "That will ensure fresher and fitter international players. It will make it easier for us. It hasn't happened this time. It will be nice if it's feasible, if that can be done."

At the World T20 last year, Vettori had joked about how, as a spinner, he wished he didn't have to bowl at all. Now, with the format's success more entrenched, he has had to become less apprehensive: "Spinners have been pretty successful in this format, we've got a big role to play."

One man who looked more comfortable in his new skin was Daredevils coach Greg Shippard, the Victoria Bushrangers coach who has a stellar Twenty20 record. Renowned for his tactical thinking, Shippard was into the thick of things straightaway. ‘

‘The diverse group of players is one of the beauties of this competition," he said, "I've watched T20 crowds grow and grow in Australia over the years and I've no doubt it will be huge here.

"For the players, it's very demanding physically and mentally, so it's important to have good technical management. But motivating players here is a challenge. As for the younger crop, I'm already impressed with (pacers) Pradeep Sangwan and Yo Mahesh."

The Daredevils can boast a formidable seam attack on paper but concerns remain. Asif is an unlikely starter because of injury, McGrath lacks practice, Brett Geeves is likely to carry drinks and Fervez Maharoof missed the bus to the West Indies because of a side strain. But the Lankan is optimistic of his chances here.

"I'm fit and ready to go, I've recovered sufficiently," he said, "The hot weather is of no concern." On to the cricket, then.

The Indian Premier League is not merely a cash bonanza but also an opportunity for India's young to rub shoulders with some of cricket's biggest icons and earn their national stripes, feels Delhi Daredevils' Australian coach Greg Shipperd.
Shipperd, who guided Australian domestic side Victoria to a hat-trick of Twenty20 titles before joining the IPL, said the Indian youngsters can impress their national selectors by doing well in the IPL.
"It's a big stage. The spotlight would be firmly on them and it gives them a great chance of showing their skills," Shipperd told reporters after the team's practice session on Tuesday.
The Daredevils have youngsters like Shikhar Dhawan, Rajat Bhatia and Mayank Tehlan in their fold and Shipperd said these rookies would add excitement to the series.
Bhatia echoed his coach's views and said he was excited about playing along side greats like Glenn McGrath besides homegrown heroes like skipper Virender Sehwag.

"We will only learn from them and it is a wonderful opportunity for us. In fact it would help the set-up of our domestic cricket," he said.

If the Kolkata Knight Riders have Shah Rukh Khan’s charisma backing them and Preity Zinta has lent her appeal to the Mohali team in the Indian Premier League, the Delhi Daredevils have roped in Bollywood daredevil Akshay Kumar to represent them.

The team captained by ‘hot-in-news’ Virendra Sehwag is charged by this development. Reveals a source, “Akshay Kumar’s image truly represents the team’s spirit. His inclusion will inject more enthusiasm into the team.”

And though the actor also has a stake in Delhi’s Daredevils, the source insists that it’s his love for cricket that’s prompted Akshay to sign up.

Akshay was known to play cricket on the grounds near Red Fort and even hike to India Gate to indulge in his favourite sport during his Delhi days. Even now, the actor often takes time out of his hectic schedule to catch up with the action on field.

It’s all about connecting with the heartbeat of Delhi — that is what Indian Premier League franchisee of Delhi, owned by infrastructure giants GMR Holdings, will aim to do in BCCI’s premier Twenty20 tournament. The Delhi franchisee rechristened as ‘Delhi Daredevils’ will aim to combine pre- and post-play entertainment for the crowds with fast and furious cricket to bring GMR closer to Delhiites.

“Delhi is a city of fierce pride, historic heroism and fearless passion and it is no wonder that our team will be known as Daredevils. We feel proud to announce that almost 67% of the respondents to our SMS poll for deciding the team name voted for Daredevils,” GMR’s IPL CEO Yogesh Shetty told the media at the launch of team name and logo at Feroz Shah Kotla yesterday.

GMR Holding won the Delhi franchisee with a bid of US$ 84 million in Mumbai.

GMR were still undecided on who will captain the side. “Right now, all we can announce is that Victorian T20-winning coach Greg Shippard will be our coach and assisting him will be David Saker,” GMR Senior Director B Vanchi said.

“There will be no compromise on our basic objective — winning matches. We will look to build a successful T20 side because this is not just for a couple of years but a long-term venture which we want to build successfully. So it will be definitely good young and aggressive talent from our pool which includes Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh,” Vanchi added.


GMR refused to divulge the composition of their team before the player auctions are completed on Wednesday in Mumbai. But have roped in MRF Pace Academy coach TA Sekhar as chief of cricketing operations for the side. Since the team requires at least four Ranji players in the team, Delhi players like Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia and Shikhar Dhawan as well as UP’s Praveen Kumar will be eyed by the Daredevils. In the under-19 category, Delhi’s coffers are overflowing with players like Virat Kohli, paceman Pradeep Sangwan and UP’s promising opener Tanmay Srivastava in contention for the side.