Delhi,a work in progress,says coach

There’s still the T20 championships and I am hopeful of winning it but on an overall note,I am satisfied with second half,the results in T20 and one-dayers. I was disappointed with our performance in the Ranji Trophy. We bowled too many loose balls and didn’t build partnerships. We failed to hold on to routine catches,and in hindsight it eventually led to our downfall.

On what went wrong with the Ranji season

I think inexperience cost us badly. In north,conditions play a vital role and you need experience at the top with the bat to do well. We failed to get substantial opening partnerships and that really put a lot of pressure on the middle order. Also injuries hit us hard,Sumit Narwal,Pawan Suyal and Chetan Nanda missed the entire Ranji season. But we are a young side,our average age is about 23,and it’s just a matter of allowing them to settle down.

On the way ahead for Delhi

This period is crucial for Delhi,because there are lot of youngsters who are forcing their way in — almost ten freshers have represented us in various formats which is a positive sign. We have asked the DDCA to send our state teams to play pre-season tournament like KSCA,Buchi Babu and JP Atray with a good mixture of youth and experience. We have plenty of left-arm spinners,which is rare,we have good set of fast bowlers,our batsmen have all been highest scorers in under-19 and under-22,so we have the talent and we need to nurture it properly. At this level ,you cannot coach so much but you have to ensure that you get the best out of the boys. There is great potential in the side and in a few years’ time 3-4 boys will soon be knocking on the doors of Team India.

On the value of experience

Picking all youngsters is not the right way,you need to have experience in the team,especially in the longer format. The way Ashish Nehra,Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia have motivated and guided the youngsters was a life-changer for so many in the dressing room. If Awana is amongst wickets,it’s because of Nehra sharing his experience. If Unmukt,Milind and Nagar have scored runs,its because they have learnt from Manhas and Rajat.