Will Gautam Gambhir change the fate of Delhi Daredevils (DD) who were down and out in previous seasons?
Delhi has never reached the IPL final. They could only manage a couple of semi-final appearences in first three IPLs and only one play-off, in 2012 season.
Newly appointed DD coach Ricky Ponting thinks the new set of players will bring the IPL title for the franchise this season. "I have told this to the management. I don't care about the past. We have got a fresh group capable of winning the IPL. It is my job, management's as well as the players to give the best crack possible. I can assure you the boys are going to be well prepared and if they can execute their plans on the field, there is no reason why we can't win," said Ponting.
The former Australia skipper has been part of IPL winning Mumbai Indians team of 2013 and 2015.
Responding to players speaking about getting the taste of Ponting's aggression. The coach said there is more to come. "If they think I have been aggressive so far, I have not even started yet (drawing laughter). I have tried to be more motivational more than anything else. Tried to sort of get my point across that how important team culture and environment is," Ponting said.
"I understand there is already a lot of talk about aggressive cricket just because I am the coach. Actually, we have not even spoken about it till now. We have spoken about playing high-intensity cricket with a never say die attitude. Anyway, when you talk about aggression, you mean whatever you can do to win games."
Ponting knows the ideal mix of youth and experience will work for Delhi. "I think our natural instincts (is to play hard) is to get ourselves into a fight and hopefully win it. When I say fight, it is the battle on the field. We are both batsmen and want to win the competition against the bowlers, against the opposition. I love seeing that out in the players. We will balance ourselves each other really well. It will be nice if we are able to bestow that same spirit upon the players," he said.
Gambhir is excited for the season with his home team. "I started with Delhi and it is always great to come back to a place where you started. Hopefully, we can the title this time, we have got the team that can win. Hopefully, I can finish my career here," he said.
