Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach Ajay Ratra said the franchise is looking to make a fresh start for the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) in the UAE, as he felt the break in between the two phases of the IPL will affect the rhythm that they were in the first phase of the tournament.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) were at the top of the points table with six wins from eight games before the COVID-19 pandemic led to the suspension of the IPL 2021. Well, the franchise has already started their preparations for the remainder of the IPL 14 resuming on September 19 in UAE.
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Ratra said in DC’s official release, “It's a different season altogether, generally it happens in full flow, and we had good momentum in the first half. Now that it's happening after a break, so we will have to start afresh, and that's why our franchise has organized this camp a little early.”
He added, “We do have sufficient time to get back into the rhythm we had in the first half of the competition, and fortunately, most of our players have been playing international cricket.”
On being asked whether the long gap will break DC’s momentum, Ratra said, “Even in Test cricket, sometimes it becomes difficult to find the rhythm after lunch breaks. So, breaks do make a difference.”
The coach continued, “However, as I said before, we still have time, and most of our core players are playing international cricket, so they might be already in a good rhythm. Whereas, those who are coming from a long break, are utilizing this camp. We have been spending more time with our domestic players, and there are good facilities here, so we will hopefully find our rhythm soon.”
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On DC head coach Ricky Ponting and bowling coach James Hopes, who are yet to join the team in the UAE, Ratra said: “We have been in touch with Ricky and Hopes. We do zoom calls with Delhi Capitals management regularly, and everyone from the coaching staff attends it, including our strength and conditioning coach Rajinikanth Sivagnanam, physios Dhananjay Kaushik and Patrick Farhart.”
He concluded, “We usually discuss the kind of practice regimes we need to set. Also, when this camp started Pravin Bhai (Pravin Amre) presented the whole plan to Ricky and all the other coaches. Similarly, I shared fielding plans for this camp with everyone.”
(With ANI Inputs)
