 Indian Premier League - Where cricket meets entertainment
17th Apr 2008 23:00 IST
Manish Kumar
Delhi Daredevils: Led by Virender Sehwag, the designated icon player, Delhi Daredevils will represent the city of New Delhi in the IPL. Bollywood star Akshay Kumar is the Brand Ambassador of the team.
The franchise is owned by the GMR Group.
Among the foreign recruits, Delhi Daredevils' biggest catch is South African AB de Villiers and New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori. de Villiers is going through the form of his life and would be the player to watch in the tournament. Vettori is one of the world's best spinner at present and he will play a big role in the competition as he is handy bat too.
The pace bowling will be spearheaded by Glenn McGrath, who might have retired but his value is more than that. He quit international cricket last year after the World Cup, but not before playing a major role in Australia's win and bagging the man-of-the-series award. McGrath will surely have few tricks up his sleeve.
McGrath will have Mohammad Asif, Farveez Maharoof, young Pradeep Sangwan and Yo Mahesh to assist. Asif's fitness remains an issue though the Pakistani would be desperate to prove himself. Both Asif and McGrath have got the nagging line and length and would be difficult to cart easily.
In the batting department Gautam Gambhir is in great form. He has shown a penchant for the Twenty20 format and came back to the national reckoning with his powerful show in the Twenty20 World Cup. Sehwag and Gambhir will be aided by Rajat Bhatia, Shikhar Dhawan, Mithun Manhas and Mayank Tehlan, who are riding high on Delhi's roaring success this domestic season.
With so many young and fresh legs in the side, Delhi Daredevils are, perhaps, the best fielding outfit among the eight franchises.
But injuries to Asif and Maharoof will be a worry. McGrath will have his work cut out if the duo doesn't stay fit. When Vettori will leave the tournament midway for the tour of England, the bowling department will be badly hit.
Pakistani skipper Shoaib Malik is lying low for a long time without any performance of note but he must be waiting to unleash himself in IPL as he is a big hitter of the ball and his off-spinners are equally effective.
The Squad: Virender Sehwag (Captain), Rajat Bhatia, AB de Villiers, Shikhar Dhawan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Gautam Gambhir, Brett Geeves, Dinesh Karthik (Wicketkeeper), Glenn McGrath, Farveez Maharoof, Yo Mahesh, Mithun Manhas, Amit Mishra, Mohammad Asif, Yogesh Nagar, Pradeep Sangwan, Shoaib Malik, Mayank Tehlan, Manoj Tiwary, Daniel Vettori, Tejashwi Yadav.
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