Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach Mohammad Kaif has said his team's fantastic run in the ongoing Indian Premier League is down to the fact that it has refrained from making too many changes to its line-up. Under the current set-up, unlike previous years, players have been allowed to come out of failures and build confidence from their successes, which has helped the franchise secure a first play-off berth in the last seven years.
"We are backing our players. We have found out our core players who are going to win the matches for us. One or two failures don’t change our minds. We know who the players are," Kaif told reporters after win in the last league encounter against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday (May 4). "That’s what is probably the biggest change you can see in Delhi Capitals in the IPL; we are a side that decided we will not make too many changes."
"It brings insecurity in the squad – making changes, chopping players. It’s not good for them; they can’t just go and express freedom and skill. Players need to play and improve most times, but when they go out there, they have all the freedom to take decisions at the right times, to read the situations, and play accordingly. That’s what we plan. Backing the players was the biggest factor in this IPL so far."
On a sluggish pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi, the home team restricted Royals to just 115/9 in its 20 overs, with Ishant Sharma picking three early wickets in his spell of (3/38) and getting able support from Trent Boult (2/27) and Amit Mishra (3/17).
Ishant stood-out for his side in absence of spearhead Kagiso Rabada, to earn rich praise from Kaif who said, "Ishant is a very big factor in our team. With his record in the IPL, some like and some don’t like him. For many years, he has had ups and downs in the IPL. The form he had in Tests – in tours of England, Australia, South Africa – we thought we should take him. He was in form, and therefore we picked him. He has fulfilled our trust in him."
"He is bowling the knuckle ball, the cutter, and taking wickets. He has made many changes. He’s not just a swing bowler anymore. He has been using a lot of weapons – the cutter, the slower bouncer. He gave away 18 runs towards the end; he wasn’t very happy with that, but he set up the contest for us at the start."
Later, Rishabh Pant (53*) batted magnificently well through the course of his innings and helped Delhi finish off the proceedings only five wickets down and in 16.1 overs. But for providing floury of wickets in the middle overs, veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra received the "Player-of-the-Match" award.
"Mishra is working very hard, since he is not getting to play every match. He knows there is competition. We have given chances to Sandeep Lamichhane and Jagadeesh Suchith as well. We have Axar [Patel] and [Rahul] Tewatia as well. So we have lots of spinners."
"Mishra is a very fluent player; he has been doing well in the IPL. We don’t have any doubts about his ability, but due to the consideration of combinations, he has missed out on quite a few matches. Whenever he got the chances, he has grabbed those opportunities with both hands. Today, too, he bowled a very good spell, and we won," Kaif added.
This victory was turnaround of sorts at home for Delhi, which only won four of its seven games at Kotla and definitely took more liking for flatter pitches away from its own ground.
"It took a while, winning at home. We thought the combination we wanted to have in the squad; we kept trying different combinations. Very happy with the way we played here," said Kaif.
"When we are travelling, we won lots of matches. On a good pitch, where the ball was coming on to the bat, our bowlers and batsmen both enjoyed the conditions. But we were struggling to play at home but the way we played the last couple of matches here we came out victorious."
(Inputs from Sportstar)
