NEW DELHI: With the IPL getting into auction mode, Delhi Capitals Head Coach Ricky Ponting met members of the management to discuss the team’s potential targets for the upcoming season scheduled between March 23 and May 12.
“We’ve had several discussions over the last few months, and have put in a lot of time and effort to make sure that we’re well prepared,” Ponting said. “You can do all the planning in the world, but at the auction table, the unpredictable always happens.”
“There’s going to be a lot of focus and attention on fast bowlers, overseas ones in particular,” the former Australian captain said. “Pat Cummins could go for big money, as could Chris Woakes. All-rounders are always interesting in my opinion.
Players like Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme could all be big picks.” “Going into the auction you have to be very specific about the kind of players you need,” he said. “For instance, we’ve got three openers, so we don’t need to look for one. You need to identify the problem areas in your starting eleven, and essentially plug the gaps.”
The Delhi Capitals have made the semi-finals of the competition on three occasions – in 2008, 2009 and then 2019. However, the team’s high point arrived in the 2012 season where it made the play-off stages of the IPL and the semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20. The team also made it to the play-off stages of the 2019 edition.
On the addition of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane to the side, Ponting said, “They are the kind of players who are likely to do well on the Kotla wicket, and of course, bring tremendous experience with them.”
Delhi Capitals will go into the December 19 in Kolkata for IPL Auction 2020 with a purse of Rs 27.85 crore and 11 available slots, including five overseas players.
(AGENCIES)
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