‘Rahane, Ashwin bring a lot of strength and experience’
While captain Shreyas Iyer was quizzed on what he thinks about new additions in the form of Ashwin and Rahane, to which he replied, “They definitely bring a lot of strength and experience, and if you see the practice sessions we have had over the last few days, they have been amazing. They help everyone in the team and especially the younger guys.”
“With Rahane also in the mix, we think we’ve got a really balanced squad of players. There’s a lot of competition for spots and lots of flexibility. He gives us more depth to our batting and with the rest of the players in fine fettle, we think we’ve got lots of flexibility there,” added Ponting addressing the query on where he sees the experienced Indian fit into the side.
On challenges of playing away from home, and in the UAE, Shreyas reckoned that it “will be a big task” for his team, but “Dubai being a slow wicket shall help” in the latter stages of the tournament.
On empty stadiums
Asked whether playing in front of empty stadiums will be a challenge, Ricky said, “Playing in front of empty stadiums will be different. There are some challenges there for all the boys but once we do start, it will be about our group dragging their own atmosphere and energy, and will be focusing on lifting each other up.”
25-year-old Iyer was asked about the bio-bubble and how his team is dealing with it. “Circumstances are definitely challenging and unusual for us because we are used to staying in the sun for 6 hours. But we will be giving our best efforts to follow each and every rule, and at the same time we will be trying to come together as a team to make sure we are able to keep ourselves entertained and to ensure that we don’t feel like we are far away from our families,” he said.
Sending a message to the Delhi Capitals’ fans, Ponting said he would be hoping to do right by them. “We know we will have great support from back home, especially from Delhi. We’ve just got to make sure that we are doing the right thing by our supporters. So far the coaching group has done a good job to get the players prepared and now it is up to all of us to make sure we are ready to for the first game tomorrow,” said the Head Coach.
‘Seamers will have an early impact’
Ponting was also of the opinion that “seamers will have an impact during the early stages of the tournament” but “it will spin later as the season progresses.” “With only three venues and like 24 games in each stadium and only 4 wickets being used, 5 or more matches will be played on one pitch, so I think we can expect the conditions to change quite a bit,” he said.
Meanwhile Shreyas was asked if his team has decided on how they will be celebrating dismissals on the pitch, to which he said, “We haven’t decided anything yet. We did celebrate in our internal practice games by giving each other fist bumps. But we will have more clarity once we are briefed in our meeting later today.”
On saliva ban
Addressing the ban on use of saliva during games, Ponting said he reckons shining the ball does not affect a T20 game as much as it does in a Test match. He said, “We’re having a health and safety meeting later this afternoon, where our doctors and physio will take about measures we need to take. Use of saliva is a habit - and I’ve spoken to the manager and I know that there are hefty fines. We are still a bit unsure on certain things – for example if sweat is allowed? But we will be briefed later today and I’m sure once games start, players will be aware of what they can do and what they can’t.”