Former India captain, Rahul Dravid is roped in as the mentor of the daredevils for the upcoming season.
As reported earlier, Dravid was not interested as to work as a full time coach and is keen on taking up the mentor’s role. The Daredevils officials also named Paddy Upton as the head coach.
The duo appointments mean, there is a strong imprint of the suspended Rajasthan Royals franchise in the new Daredevils set-up.
This is expected to comfort Dravid, who, like Dhoni, didn't mind conceding that it would be difficult to immediately forget the long association with his previous franchise.
"It is pretty obvious why the opportunity came. I thought I won't be involved in the IPL for the next couple of years. It is natural (to feel the connect) if you spend five years at any place," Dravid said.
“As of now, I am looking forward to the next three months and we will take the future as it comes,” maintaining mum on the term of his tenure.
Speaking about Pawan Negi purchasing Delhi Daredevils with the whooping Rs. 8.5 crore, Dravid said, “The auctions can be very dynamic. I don't think you should judge a player by the price he is bought for at the auction. Pawan has shown that with CSK. He is a handy lower-order batsman along with his left-arm spin. That is what the national selectors have seen and picked him in the Indian team for. We hope he will produce same performances for Delhi (Daredevils).”
Advising the youngsters not to restrict themselves with T20s, Dravid suggested, “My advice to youngsters is to aspire to play all three formats of the game. Why sell yourself short? Why play only one format, why not aspire to play in all three?”
Following the strategy of Rajasthan Royals, even Daredevils has invested heavily on domestic players. The franchise currently has four wicket keepers in their ranks. “I don't like to rate people as icons. Obviously there are some players who are more experienced, who have achieved more,” Dravid said.
By Phani Ch
