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| Edited By: G Krishnan |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 30, 2017, 06:06 AM IST
It is very satisfying, especially with the amount of hard work everyone put in – the players, support staff, the franchise, the people behind the scenes. When it culminates into a fantastic result like winning the championship, it is really fulfilling and satisfying for each and every member. I am really pleased for all the players because in the eight weeks that we spent together, each and every day, every individual in the squad exhibited a lot of commitment and sincerity in not only giving their best to the team but also made sure they helped each one of the players. They were more like a family, the Sunrisers family. That is the strength of the Sunrisers, each one feeling for the other. We enjoyed each other's success and also helped one another in continuous growth. And, if someone was going through a lean patch, we backed him and gave him all the confidence to help him bounce back strongly.
As team management, Tom (Moody), (Muttiah) Muralitharan and myself tried to create an environment where it was pretty relaxed, where everyone felt secured and went out and played with a lot of freedom, expressing himself. We tried to maintain consistency. We didn't want to fluctuate too much with the performances. Whether we were winning or losing, we wanted to create the same environment. I believe each member of the squad was a star in his own right. There was no one who is a superstar. Every member of the squad was a valuable member of the franchise.
Yes, and, that is the toughest part. We gave security to each other player, we didn't chop and change players very frequently. The flipside to that was a lot of players didn't get the opportunity. But, what was really impressive was that the players who did not get a single game or players who played only a couple of games, and that includes Eoin Morgan, Kane Williamson and Trent Boult besides a lot of domestic uncapped players, I have never ever seen any time when they were dejected or were throwing tantrums around the group. This’s very difficult. Each one of them contributed every day their best in doing their role for the team. And, that was great.
Yes. What was good was that even when they were not playing, and this applies to the uncapped Indian players also, at every practice session, they made sure they worked hard so that they were prepared whenever the opportunity came. And, as it happened, Boult got an opportunity in Qualifier 2 and you saw that he was fit, he was in good rhythm and was at his best. Even though he was not playing, he was working hard on his fitness and bowling. And, it is tough, easier said than done. That is most impressive among the players.
I have heard a lot of stories of that image of his. But, since the time he has been playing for Sunrisers, even though when he was not the captain a year before last, he was an inspiration within the group. He was a leader within the group the way he played each and every match, and also the way he has captained the side. You have to remember that he is not a very experienced captain. As captain, he has not done much apart from captaining the Sunrisers. Now, he is the Australian vice-captain. What is really impressive is the way he led from the front. Not only in the way he batted or scored those runs but the amount of impact he had in scoring those runs. On the field, he is a livewire, fielding in tough positions. Showed a lot of endurance, scoring runs, handling pressure and at the same time gave everything possible on the field. The most important aspect of his captaincy was that he’s a bowler's captain. Any bowler you ask, he prefers a bowler's captain than a captain coming and dictating what to do. Warner is that sort of a captain who gives total responsibility to the bowler to decide his game plan, to have his field, and to execute the game plan. That is not only when the team is in a good position but also in pressure situations. Like the way we were in the final. And, irrespective of how tough a situation we were in, he has always got a lot of positive inputs and suggestions to everyone in the squad. And, his action speaks for itself. I am hoping he will continue to improve and grow as a captain. My wish is one day he gets to lead Australia because he is capable of getting a lot of success as an Australian captain.
As a captain, you have to be a consistent member in the playing 11. The first year, the way he has performed in batting and fielding department, and the kind of leadership attributes he had within the group even though he was not the designated captain, encouraged us to give him that role as a captain. And, we are very happy that he accepted that and he embraced that.
It was not about Orange Cap. What I have seen from close quarters is that David is a self-driven person. And, he takes a lot of pride in whatever he is doing. Not just with playing for Sunrisers on the field. Any activity he does off the field, he does that with a lot of pride and passion. And, he does not like to lose. He is mentally a very tough player. Whatever he has done is not to wear the Orange Cap but to make sure Sunrisers wins the championship. And, not even once did he show any emotion in saying that he was getting the bulk of runs for Sunrisers. It was all about him being a team man and helping each member of the team. It was fantastic to see. His drive is infectious. His passion is infectious.
I would not like to compare with other bowling units but it was a conscious effort at the auction to pick quality bowlers who are genuinely match-winners and wicket-taking bowlers, not only with the new ball but also at death.
We firmly believe that taking wickets is the best way to stop the flow of runs. All the bowlers we have are wicket-taking bowlers in pressure situations and have got great defensive skills. Over the years, we have seen in T20 that if you don't have good defensive skills, then all the hard work you put in the first 15-16 overs goes down the drain because the batsmen come hard at you in the last 4-5 overs. That is where someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra and Mustafizur Rahman were exceptional. Am also impressed with the growth of Barinder Sran as a bowler. And, I believe that he has got a good potential. We were lucky that Moises Henriques and Ben Cutting did that role. And so did Bipul Sharma in the limited opportunities that he got. Overall, it was a very good bowling line-up. Special mention to Ashish Nehra. Till the time he was there with the group, he not only took wickets on the field, but he also helped young bowlers including Mustafizur to strategise better and bowl to their strengths. He was a leader within the group. Once he left, Bhuvi took over that role.
Absolutely. He was great in helping Mustafizur, Sran. And, ultimately I am a firm believer that bowlers win you matches in any format. We were very fortunate to have some very good bowlers.
With Mustafizur, it is his variation, his mastery and control over his variation. That is one aspect. The second aspect is his confidence. That you could see right from the first game he was playing for Bangladesh where he knew exactly where to bowl to which batsman and in different situations, what is the right ball to bowl. It worked out well because David Warner gave him the freedom to bowl his deliveries, and choose his own field. He has got total confidence in his abilities. He has got so much control on his variations. I have seen batsmen or bowler having a lot of strengths. But the moment they are under pressure, they don't know how to use their strengths. Our bowlers, under pressure, believed in their abilities.
He could understand English. He could not speak much, He could understand the cricketing language. Tom has to be complimented for the way he looked after Mustafizur, especially in the first 10-15 days, making him very comfortable. He used to sit and chat with him. You have to remember that he was coming for the first time to India, not speaking English and staying alone, and the entire group enjoyed his presence. All of them got very friendly, it was a great environment. Words cannot describe that. Tom took that extra effort in the first 10-15 days to make sure that Mustafizur was comfortable. He understood everyone. It was a great way to welcome a new member into the group.
Their roles were very important. Yuvi worked hard on his injury and came in. Not only was he playing the best we have seen Yuvi play for some time, where he was going and playing that free-flowing game we know he can play but also the way he was a leader within the group.
Shikhar, coming into the tournament low in confidence, has worked hard on his game. He did a couple of technical changes, his adaptability was exceptional in making sure that the changes are easily ingrained into his game, and then he went to become a very consistent performer for us. The start given by Shikhar and Warner was very important for us. And, they complemented each other. When Yuvi, Shikhar or Ashish spoke within the group, the youngsters would register whatever was said. Even though Warner was the designated captain, we had a lot of leaders within the group, which is the hallmark of a good team.
He worked on his trigger movement and changed his grip. It was really impressive to see the amount of work he put in. It was unbelievable. We had a gap of five days. In that time, day and night, he was thinking about technique and what changes he had to make. And, to adapt so quickly really surprised. Normally, people take a lot of time to adapt changes into their game. These two are major technical changes. But, he straightaway adapted and he got back his rhythm after the fourth or the fifth game. He started to perform consistently.
Before the start of the tournament, I had said that this IPL was going to be highly competitive where all the teams have got the necessary players and talent to win the tournament, and none started as favourites. And, as it turned out, till the last day of the group stage, none knew who the four qualifiers were. Even all the Playoffs were very close. And the final till the last over, none knew who was going to win. That showed that all the teams were balanced. All the teams had players who can win the championship for them. That is what IPL is all about. It is a pure form of entertainment but also there is a lot of competitiveness among the teams. It was played in the right spirit, which was good to see.
We always pride ourselves in giving a lot of opportunities to youngsters. There are a lot of youngsters who we believe will be match-winners. And, they have not fired this year. I am sure they will come back more matured and much more experienced that is something that we want from the uncapped domestic players. The second area is in the spin department. Karn Sharma and Bipul are good. But they can still do better. Bipul has done well with the bat and the ball in the limited opportunities. Spin department is something we have to strengthen. Overall, it is maintaining the intensity throughout the tournament, which we did well this year and we want to replicate next year. Another area to improve is to start well in the tournament. Over the last couple of seasons, we have not begun well. We need to start well and end well.
It is important to think about the process. Even this year, while the goal was to become the champions, the last thing you want to do, especially in a tournament like IPL with back-to-back matches in two months, is to think about the end result. It is important not to think about unnecessary pressure but to go out and enjoy each and every match you play. I believe that is very critical if you have to win a tournament like IPL. It is not just with Sunrisers but with all the teams. You cannot think about winning IPL at the start of the tournament. Momentum plays a huge role. There won’t be any pressure as such, we just want to go out there and concentrate on the process and do the best we can in each and every match.
What I told him other than congratulating him on his terrific performance was that he was an inspiration to not only young Indians but also to all the cricket followers across the world and cricketers. He is setting the benchmark. I wanted him to continue that and wish him good luck. What impresses me is the way he has handled his success. That comes to the forefront when you hear him in the post-match presentations. Even when he was talking after the final, you could see how mature he was in handling the loss. Just hearing him makes you feel that he looks at things in the right perspective. In one of the post-match talks, he told he loves to work hard and do the boring things. That was so inspiring to me because that is what you want to hear from a champion player, to tell the world the importance of working hard and the importance of perfect practice. He really works hard off the field and that is in his mind when he is playing because he puts in hours and hours in his training and does not want to lose an opportunity to do his bit for the team. That is why he is so successful. Right from small things like diet to big things like technique, you see a continuous improvement and growth in him. As a player and also as a person, he is evolving with every outing without losing his aggression and positive attitude. It is really good to see, and that is what I told him, that he is an inspiration and wished him good luck for the future.
I still feel that MS Dhoni has got some more years to contribute to the Indian team. I think we should still stick to Dhoni as captain for limited-overs. This year, Virat will have great opportunity to learn and improve as a captain.
In the limited opportunities as a captain, he has done well. Especially in the first Test in Adelaide (2014) even though India lost, I was so impressed with his positive approach and his attitude to go all out for a win. I still feel Dhoni has got some more years left as a captain and I believe he should the ODI and T20 side, and Virat in the longer version.
Also, there will be too much burden on one person. All the other countries have different captains for different formats, not to burden one person with all the responsibilities. When you have got such an experienced captain in Dhoni, who is still the best wicketkeeper-batsman India has got, and you saw in IPL the amount of fitness and the running between the wickets, he has got back the touch of hitting those big sixes. Since the Australia tour, he was effortlessly hitting the sixes again. Nothing like dividing the captaincy between Dhoni for T20Is and ODIs, and Virat the Test matches. What impresses me about Dhoni is how calm he is in pressure situations. Even after hitting those runs, he does not express himself.
