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Journalism of Courage
It wasnt the hosts and the defending champions,or the visiting team,who were the centre of attention a day before the first match of this IPL edition. Even as the final round of practice commenced before the season opener between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Delhi Daredevils,it wasnt the players sweating away in the training area who made tongues wag. It was the absence of Virender Sehwag that was the big talking point.
Sehwag was conspicuous by his non-presence on Tuesday. While it was learnt that the Daredevils captain was expected to arrive later in the day,coach Eric Simons said that the delay was due to a niggle in his back.
Sehwag is down with back spasm and hasnt checked in yet, Simons said. He might come today and well take a call as and when he is here. This,then,amplifies Delhi Daredevilss batting concerns.
Concerns add up
For a side that made headlines in the pre season for losing the services of Kevin Pietersen and Jesse Ryder,Simons side needed the impact player in Sehwag fit and firing.
And considering his own lack of form in international cricket having been dropped from both the Test and ODI sides in the last few months,the Najafgarh man too may have wanted to prove a point or two. Especially because despite his drop in performances for India,the IPL has been a fertile ground for Delhis Sehwag.
Last season,he became the first player to score five straight fifties in the tournament and all along he maintained a 160-plus strike rate. With Sehwag firing up front,the Daredevils were very consistent last time around. Incidentally,they had beaten KKR at Eden in their first match of the tournament and carried forward the momentum.
His form and the presence of David Warner and Mahela Jayawardene notwithstanding,Sehwag will remain key to Daredevils hopes in the tournament. Were he to not play on Wednesday,one thing is for certain,KKR will feel a sense of relief.
IPL is all about crisis management. Unavailability of the players has provided a massive opportunity to the youngsters, Simons said. The above statement applies for the hosts as well. With Brendon McCullum,a man who took the season opener of the inaugural IPL by storm,still nursing a hamstring injury and talented Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan yet to arrive in India from Zimbabwe,KKR have a few problems of their own.
Gambhir puts team ahead
Out of the Indian Test team,the Indian Premier League is an opportunity for Gambhir to make a statement. But he is looking at it differently.
8220;Cricket is not about individuals. I am a part of the team that won the title last season. I don8217;t think this IPL is a platform for me to make a comeback to the Indian team. Rather,it8217;s a platform for the team to build on what we achieved last season,8221; said Gambhir on the match eve.
KKR had eventually shed their underachievers tag last year and became the champions. But will there be under pressure this time?
Gambhir begs to differ.
8220;Winning the title doesn8217;t put you under pressure. Rather,it gives you more confidence to play fearless cricket and defend the title. For the first five years it was said we were more popular off the field. But now we have the confidence to win it. And we can make winning a habit if we play fearless cricket.8221;
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