Lehman backs his under-fire team

Deccan Chargers might have been languishing at the bottom of the table but it certainly hasn’t affected their popularity as 30 kids lined up eagerly for a coaching clinic from Team India fielding coach Trevor Penney,Chargers coach Darren Lehmann,JP Duminy,Daniel Harris and other players at the Jesus and Mary College on Monday.

The practice was understandably light-hearted — Lehmann and Harris bowled gentle off-spin,Duminy carried out fielding drills while Ashish Reddy,one of the few performers for the team with the ball, demonstrated the back-of-the-hand slower delivery. Coach Lehmann has often criticised his team for their poor fielding and bowling but asked about the team’s performance,the Australian said the team always showed commitment and willingness to learn. “It’s not as if the boys are not trying hard. We lost some close matches. There is no lack of work ethics and I am happy with their commitment to the team. We did not excel at the right time and did not grab opportunities. We need to get the basics right. In the high pressure of IPL,you need to execute plans in a lot better way. I don’t think that we possess any lack of commitment. Look,in such kind of tournament,you need to depend a bit on luck also,” he said. ” he said.

On being pressed further,Lehman added that inexperience in his side was partly to blame although he tried to put a positive spin on it as well. “The younger guys are learning and that’s a good thing. The more experience they get,the better they become in a pressure situation. As long as they learn from it,that’s a more important thing to me as a coach. As long as these guys learn from their mistakes and become better players,I think you will see that improvement over a certain period of time,” he said.

Lehmann also defended his team skipper Kumar Sangakkara,who failed to put up substantial runs this season. “Sangakkara is an absolute champion. As a captain,he has done a great job behind the scenes. We know that he would like to see some more runs on the board. He is a very special man who looks after all his players. I am sure he will turn it around for the team in the near future. We have no problems with him at all,” said Lehmann.

With this season as good as over,Duminy hoped that the team would put up a better show in the next edition of IPL. “We witnessed some close games this season. We lost some close 4-5 matches and on another day,we won a few. Hopefully,next time we would be on the winning side,” he said.