McGrath, Daredevils break the ice over sharp catches

Face aglow in the morning sunshine, he seemed to float on the hallowed turf made out of bounds by frowning securitymen.

Face aglow in the morning sunshine, he seemed to float on the hallowed turf made out of bounds by frowning securitymen.

There may not be anything saintly about Glenn McGrath8217;s infamous on-field persona, but for completely cricketing reasons, the propensity to add the word 8220;great8221; with the Australian pacer8217;s name is easily explained. This morning, a wall8217;s-hop away from sleepy school children and honk-happy bluelines, the New South Wales native went through the initiation rites of making Ferozeshah Kotla his home ground.

As the first training session of the IPL8217;s Delhi Daredevils got up and running, the ice-breaking was over sharp catches and diving stops. Every run counts in Twenty20, and so fielding figured big on the task chart.

If McGrath made the dives look easy, New Zealand8217;s Daniel Vettori8217;s bouncing precedence in the drills could have deluded one about his seniority. But the day out in the sun belonged to Delhi8217;s home bandwagon. Most of them have grown up seeing these players on television, so a slight jump in the nerves and a stutter would8217;ve been entirely forgiven. This is young India however, and bigger on the minds would be the will to prove their own dollars8217; worth. So as the bright red of the practice kit made them all look similar, the youngsters tried to make sure that their on-field action didn8217;t betray the difference in stature.

He might have been seeing McGrath in flesh for the first time, but Pradeep Sangwan has a world champions8217; tag of his own, and he takes being team mates with world class players easy. 8220;Yeah, of course it was great to meet him, but I8217;m looking forward to the matches,8221; he said. Asked if he had any questions lined up for a face-to-face query session with the Aussie, the 18-year-old didn8217;t bat an eyelid. 8220;Well, we8217;re technically different, I have my own natural style. But it8217;s going to be fun to watch him from close quarters.8221;

It started with a friendly game of throw-ball, coach Greg Shipperd combining fun with work. As manager TA Sekar made sure the few clicking cameras were no distraction, the players divided into three rotating groups 8212; one to handle pick-up-and-throws, the second for low, sharp catches, and the third for those betrayingly easy looking skiers.

The stadium now proudly displays a Daredevils sign, the smell of fresh paint pervades the spanking new dressing rooms and the media centre, and the floodlights that give Twenty20 games that added zing, are all set up.

Story continues below this ad

Fans, obviously unaware, left the stars alone today. The solitary trio of autograph hunters, though, was shooed away as the players entered the buffered dressing rooms. The big names might ensure beginners8217; excitement, but if Delhi has to adopt the new-concept team as their own, a revised PR attitude may not be such a bad idea.