Former India pacer Ashish Nehra feels the Indian Premier League (IPL) has come as a blessing for several talented youngsters, who would have otherwise not grabbed the public eye.

”It’s an extremely big stage. Look at guys like Manpreet Gony, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina who have benefited enormously from it,” Nehra told cricketnirvana.com.

Nehra, who has not played for India since late 2005, said the IPL has revived hopes of a return to international cricket for discarded players like him.

”The IPL is as big as international cricket. In earlier times, as a cricketer getting dropped from the Indian team, it was very difficult to motivate yourself. The domestic circuit was fast losing credibility and players were not very keen on giving it a hundred percent if they were in the wrong side of 30 and there were no vacancies in the Indian team,” he stated.

The IPL has also become a playground for ageing and retired stars like Ajit Agarkar Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Shaun Pollock.

But, Nehra is not yet ready to include himself in that category.

”Please don’t put me in that category, you must be joking,” the Delhi left-armer said.

”I am still under 30.

”The best aspect of the IPL is that it is as big as international cricket in terms of pressure, quality of cricket and competitiveness,” he added.
Source – deepikaglobal.com

“It will be completely on the team management where I should bat, weather I open or not,” Gambhir said.

“It is not important where you bat but if your team wins at the end,” he said on the sidelines of a ceremony to present him a customised ‘Bolero Stinger’ jeep here today.

Asked if he was already tired after the New Zealand tour and the hectic schedule owing to promotional activities in the city during his short break, Gambhir said being active was the need of his profession.

“There is no need to take rest in this profession. This is the time I should be active because a player has a limited time in his career. Moreover, I cannot forget the love and support given to me by so many people. This profession is not for resting,” he said.

“I will take rest when I will have all the time to rest (after my career),” he added.

The 27-year-old opener appeared excited about playing the Indian Premier League in South Africa.

“There are so many good memories attached with the first Twenty20 World Cup which was held in South Africa. I have always said that was the turning point of my career. So I feel it would be a good tournament there. I will try my best that Delhi Daredevils win this time,” he said.
Source – espnstar.com

Termed as the world’s best opening pair in the current times, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag were ready for the IPL action in South Africa starting from the 18th of April.

Gambhir said that the IPL would be an ideal platform to gain quality T20 experience before the start of the Twenty20 World cup scheduled in England.

“It’s a blessing in disguise for us to play IPL in South Africa before the Twenty20 World Cup. We hardly get to play Twenty20 matches. But to get the chance to play 14 to 15 games in IPL against world class players will definitely help us in our preparations for defending the crown,” the stocky left hander mentioned.

Gambhir has had a dream series against New Zealand and would look forward to continue his good form going into the second season of the IPL. Gambhir laid emphasis on the fact that success in international cricket mainly depended on the security of the player’s position in the team.

Gambhir’s opening partner Sehwag, spoke about the condition of pitches in South Africa and the help it offered to the pacers. “Pacers will undoubtedly have an edge in South Africa because of pace and bounce but that’s good for batters too as they can play their shots on such conditions,” the Delhi dasher said, while speaking to newspaper reporters during a send off event organized for the Daredevils team.

Sehwag also mentioned that the Delhi crowd would be missed by him and his team during the IPL 2009. “We will miss Delhi crowd in South Africa but hopefully, there will be sufficient support for us in South Africa,” he said.
Source – cricbuzz.com

The Delhi Daredevils won seven of their 14 games last year in the Indian Premier League before losing in the semifinals to the eventual winners, the Rajasthan Royals, by a massive margin of 105 runs.The Daredevils are captained by Indian batting supremo Virender Sehwag. The leading run-scorer for the Delhi side in last year’s inaugural event, and second overall, was Gautam Gambhir, who scored 534 runs in 14 games at an average of 41. Sehwag scored 406 runs in 14 games with a highest score of 94 not out.

The team also boasts stars such as South African batsman AB de Villiers, retired Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath, New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori and exciting Australian newcomer David Warner, to name a few.

21-year-old Indian Yo Mahesh was the main destroyer with the ball for the Daredevils last year, taking 16 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 23.12.

Sri Lankan fast bowler Farveez Maharoof took 15 wickets in just 10 games at a superb average of 16.60.

The team is coached by Australian Greg Shipperd and is owned by the GMR Group.

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar is the brand ambassador of the Delhi Daredevils franchise.
Source – thetimes.co.za

Gautam Gambhir believes the upcoming Indian Premier League in South Africa will help India’s bid for glory at the Twenty20 World Cup.

Delhi Daredevils opener Gambhir, who was named man of the series on India’s tour of New Zealand, feels the IPL is the ideal preparation for the tournament in England in June.

“We hardly play Twenty20 matches so the IPL is really a blessing in disguise,” Gambhir said. “We will be playing 14 to 15 games in the IPL against world-class players, and that’s definitely going to help us in our preparations for the World Cup.”