Delhi Capitals (DC), who finished third in the IPL 2019, will open their account in the IPL 2020 by going against Kings XI Punjab on September 20 in Dubai. DC, who are captained by Shreyas Iyer, have Australian legend Ricky Ponting as their head coach and he talked about the team composition in a virtual press conference.
Ponting said that the inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane, who was traded from Rajasthan Royals, added depth to the batting line up, but mentioned that there will be a healthy competition for middle-order slots during this IPL season.
DC invested in Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, and Alex Carey in the auction, while they have Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer already in the middle order.
"We really have a balanced side. There is a lot of competition for middle-order slots. Rahane gives us more depth to our batting. Shikhar had as good a last season as anybody. Prithvi has been training very well. Shreyas has had his best 12 months for the Indian team. We have Pant, Hetmyer, and Alex Carey (both left-handers), which gives us a good mix of left-right combinations. We have our bases covered," the Australian legend hinted on Rahane’s future in the team.
IPL 2020: Ajinkya Rahane open to performing the finisher’s role for Delhi Capitals in IPL 13
Iyer, meanwhile, said that Ashwin and Rahane have mixed well within the group and never gave a sense that they are senior players. He called Ashwin a huge benefit for them ahead of the KXIP game, given that he captained the franchise for two seasons.
Ponting also touched upon the playing conditions as DC will play four games in Dubai, which will host 24 matches throughout the tournament.
"Conditions might change through the tournament. They have four tracks in Dubai that will host 24 games. I saw a lot of green grass cover on the track and before the game, some of it will be off. I don't see a lot of spin now but it might become a factor during the later part of the tournament," Ponting said.
About celebrations, Iyer said that the players are restricting it to "fist bumps", something they had been doing during practice games.
(PTI inputs)
