Delhi Daredevils

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Greg Shipperd, the Victoria coach, will take up an assignment with the Delhi Daredevils, the Delhi-based IPL franchise, which also appointed TA Sekar, the chief coach at the MRF Pace Academy, to be in charge of it's cricket operations. More... Greg Shipperd to coach Delhi Daredevils Cricinfo staff February 19, 2008 Greg Shipperd, the Victoria coach, will take up an assignment with the Delhi Daredevils, the Delhi-based IPL franchise, which also appointed TA Sekar, the chief coach at the MRF Pace Academy, to be in charge of it's cricket operations. Meanwhile, the GMR Group, the owners of the franchise, said that Virender Sehwag will lead the side in case their request to the IPL governing council to grant him 'icon' status, which means that he will not be available for tomorrow's player auction, is accepted. "Though it has not been finalised, he would lead the team if our request is considered," B Vanchi, a senior director of GRM Group, said at a press conference organised at the Ferozshah Kotla, where the Delhi-based team kick off their IPL campaign when they take on their Jaipur counterparts on April 19. Meanwhile, Sekar said that one of his first tasks would be to get the Delhi Ranji trio of Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia and Shikhar Dhawan, on board, adding, "In the mandatory under-22 category, we have identified Viraat Kohli, Pradeep Sangwan and Tanmay Srivastava of UP [uttar Pradesh]". DELHI DAREDEVILS - LAST TIME'S SEMI FINALISTS AND THIS TIME'S CHAMPIONS Coach: Greg Shipperd Captain: Virender Sehwag Colours: Blue and Red Founded: 2008 Home Ground: Feroz Shah Kotla Capacity: 40,000 Owner: GMR Holdings Official Website: www.delhidaredevils.com This Season's Daredevils Virender Sehwag Aavishkar Salvi AB de Villiers Amit Mishra Andrew McDonald Ashish Nehra Daniel Vettori David Warner Dinesh Karthik Dirk Nannes Farveez Maharoof Gautam Gambhir Glenn McGrath Manoj Tiwary Mithun Manhas Owais Shah Paul Collingwood Pradeep Sangwan Rajat Bhatia Tejashwi Yadav Tillakaratne Dilshan Umesh Yadav Yo Mahesh Yogesh Nagar KHELO FRONT FOOT PE !!!

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Dilli da soul The CEO of the GMR Delhi Daredevils, in an interview with Anand Vasu, says that his franchise has the potential to represent the soul of Delhi. More... Anand Vasu, Hindustan Times New Delhi, February 20, 2008 First Published: 02:14 IST(20/2/2008) Last Updated: 02:54 IST(20/2/2008) Yogesh shetty, CEO of the GMR Delhi Daredevils, believes his franchise has the potential to represent the "soul of Delhi". He spoke in detail to the Hindustan Times about what his group hoped to achieve. Excerpts: Why buy a franchise? Why not adopt simpler routes like sponsorship if you want branding?India is the only place where community-based sports have not been professionalised. I’ve spent a lot of time working in sports, especially football, where it is community and club that is the focus, not country. National teams are one thing but it is in community-based teams that there is a real connect between the teams and their fans. Cricket has got such passion in this country but it’s not community based. You have the Ranji Trophy but support is not based on team lines, it’s regional. When they professionalised domestic cricket in this form, we realised it was the best way to connect. The important thing for us is connect. And when you want to connect with the soul of the people, the soul of a city, then cricket is the only way to do so. But again you’re saying this venture is just a vehicle to deliver a message … No, I don’t agree. I’d go further. When we looked at the bid we thought what cricket meant to our corporate social responsibility. It is very important for us. We saw a hook in cricket but we also want to conduct cricket clinics, set up academies. For us it’s not just this tournament; what happens after that is important. How important is it that franchisees view the IPL in this manner and not just as a commercial exercise? It is vital that franchisees view it in this manner. No one, or for that matter the IPL itself, will succeed unless you create a fan base, a fan base connect, and a fan base rivalry between teams. If it is just commercialisation for the sake of commercialisation, then you don’t get connect. Everyone says they want to do something to develop the game, to work at the grassroots. What does this mean? It’s early days but we’re talking to the DDCA, because this is our home ground. We’re looking to have cricket clinics with a different texture. We have some big plans for gully cricket. This is not just about people achieving professionalism in cricket, it is about people getting joy out of cricket. That’s where things like gully cricket, beach cricket and things like that come along. Cricket is now not done with just the sporting angle in mind, it is about family and it is about entertainment, especially in Twenty20 cricket. In India, fans are emotional to the extent that an early exit from the World Cup means houses getting tarred and stones thrown at buildings. Isn’t there a fear this could happen to you, and your brand if the Daredevils lose badly?People are passionate about country but not about club. When it comes to club, it’s different. Cricket does not have boundaries of that kind. We will be the only club to form the kind of fan club that gives them some kind of a stake in saying what they would like out of this club. We’re going to create fan clubs that are truly fan clubs. You’ve talked about corporate plans. But what of cricket? What kind of structure are you going to put in place? We are going to get the world’s best. It is one thing to get the best technical people, but even these people need a proper framework for them to function efficiently. We need leaders in this franchise. Everybody is already calling this a franchise but as of now it is just a territory —- for it to become a franchise will take a lot of hard work.

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Shipperd keen to coach Delhi IPL side Victoria's coach Greg Shipperd could join his Western Australia counterpart Tom Moody in taking charge of an Indian Premier League (IPL) team after he was approached by the Delhi franchise. More... Victoria would remain priority in Champions League Shipperd keen to coach Delhi IPL side Cricinfo staff February 20, 2008 Greg Shipperd is in line to coach the Delhi franchise in the Indian Premier League © Getty Images Victoria's coach Greg Shipperd could join his Western Australia counterpart Tom Moody in taking charge of an Indian Premier League (IPL) team after he was approached by the Delhi franchise. Moody has already signed with the Mohali side and Shipperd is keen to be involved provided Cricket Victoria has no objection. The appointments will create an interesting situation should either Mohali or Delhi reach the Champions League, which is to feature the top two domestic Twenty20 sides from India, Australia, England and South Africa. Western Australia and Victoria have already qualified but Shipperd and Moody have both said that if the conflict occurs they will guide their Australian state rather than their IPL team. "Clearly, my first priority is with Cricket Victoria as my employer," Shipperd told the Age. "In the event of coaching both teams to a final, I would be looking after the Victorians and have a process behind the scenes in place to deal with the other side, which they are comfortable with." Shipperd said he was surprised at the interest from Delhi, however his Twenty20 coaching record is unparalleled. In three years of the Australian domestic competition Victoria have won all three titles and have only lost one match. He is looking forward to the chance to test his management skills with a different group of players. "It would be a wonderful coaching opportunity to be involved with, to have four or five different international players in the team playing what is the red-hot form of the game at the moment," Shipperd said. "It's on-the-job training and hopefully bringing some positive spin-off to Victorian cricket down the track." John Buchanan is also strongly tipped to coach the Kolkata franchise, although the only definite Australian signing at the moment is Moody as Shipperd's appointment is not confirmed. Moody says surrounding himself with the world's leading players will be a terrific experience. "Having to mould a team with stars from around the world into a competitive unit against other extremely talented teams will be a great challenge and one that I am very much looking forward to," Moody said. "In addition to this, I will be exposed to the marketing and promotional expertise that will go into staging a world-class event."

[Chandan]

Daredevils to set stage on fire Arjun Sen, Hindustan Times New Delhi, February 20, 2008 First Published: 00:13 IST(20/2/2008) Last Updated: 00:15 IST(20/2/2008) Come next summer, and Delhiites will be cheering the Daredevils in the Indian Premier League at the Kotla. GMR Holdings, the company that owns the Delhi franchise, on Tuesday unveiled the name and the team logo at a function. The name, as senior director of GMR, B Vanchi said, "received 67 per cent of the total votes polled in the SMS poll." The other proposed name was Delhi Mughals. The Daredevils will play their first match against the team from Jaipur on April 19 at the Ferozeshah Kotla. Sehwag as an icon The BCCI's decision to elevate Virender Sehwag to iconic status would have undoubtedly come as a big relief for the Daredevils. At the press conference on Tuesday, BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla said they would like the Delhi dasher to lead the team if he was granted iconic status. Sehwag joins a four-man list, which includes Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid. These icons will not be up for auctioning on Wednesday and will play for their city teams. Speaking about the issue of elevating Sehwag, BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla said on Tuesday: "I will certainly take up this matter with the IPL governing council in Mumbai and try my best to get Sehwag on board." Catchment Areas Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh will both fall under Delhi's catchment area for the tournament. The team, will therefore, include players from all three states. Shipperd as coach As first reported by Hindustan Times on Tuesday, Victoria coach Greg Shipperd has been appointed coach for the Daredevils and will take up duties before the tournament begins.

[gator]

i have a gripe with this.... for a long time, our domestic coaches like patil, amarnath, rajput, amre, w.v.raman have been crying hoarse about not getting opportunities... if they dont facking get opportunities in their own country, where else? this IPL should have been a perfect platform to induct them...

[Chandan]

Kotla to make changes THE KOTLA will have to spruce up its glamour quotient as it gets ready to host the Delhi leg of the IPL. On Sunday, a two-member team from the IPL visited the Kotla and suggested a few changes be made to the venue. "They want us to have a fullfledged medical room where a doctor will always be on call," said a DDCA source. "That is one of the many pre-requisites the IPL has for all the venues. An electronic scoreboard, more air conditioners and televisions were the other requirements," the source added. -------------------------- I hope they think about changing the state of stadium as well, eg, clean toilets, comfortable seating, food and drink arrangements to name a most most basic ones!!

[gator]

thts right.... i dont care much for the tvs et al.... if i remember from the late 80s and early 90s, wen i used to go, parking, food, restrooms improvement alone is a tremendous service to cricket fans....

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Dinesh Karthik goes to Delhi Dinesh Karthik topped the bidding in the fifth round of the players' auction in the DLF Indian Premier League after Delhi bought him for US $5,25,000 ahead of South African veteran Mark Boucher. Boucher, one of the top wicketkeepers in world cricket and renowned for his hard-hitting batting, was second-best in the fifth round after Bangalore purchased him for US $4,50,000 against his base price of US $2,00,000, the same as Karthik. More... Dinesh Karthik [images] topped the bidding in the fifth round of the players' auction in the DLF Indian Premier League after Delhi bought him for US $5,25,000 ahead of South African veteran Mark Boucher [images]. Boucher, one of the top wicketkeepers in world cricket and renowned for his hard-hitting batting, was second-best in the fifth round after Bangalore purchased him for US $4,50,000 against his base price of US $2,00,000, the same as Karthik. His compatriot AB de Villiers was taken by Delhi for US $3,00,000. Parthiv Patel, who last played international cricket in October 2004, received a huge boost after India Cements-owned franchise Chennai bought him for US $3,25,000. Pakistan's Kamran Akmal went for his base price of US $1,50,000, but Zimbabwe's pocket-sized keeper Tatenda Taibu had no takers and went into the reserve pool with likes of Glenn McGrath and Michael Hussey. Player Country Bought by Franchise Price (in USD) Base Price (USD) Round 1 (Report) MS Dhoni [images] India Chennai 1.5 m 4,00,000 Adam Gilchrist [images] Australia Hyderabad 7,00,000 3,00,000 M Muralitharan Sri Lanka [images] Chennai 6,00,000 2,50,000 M Jayawardene Sri Lanka Mohali 4,75,000 2,50,000 Shane Warne [images] Australia Jaipur 4,50,000 4,50,000 Shoaib Akhtar [images] Pakistan Kolkata 4,25,000 2,50,000 Round 2 (Report) Anil Kumble [images] India Bangalore 5,00,000 2,50,000 Harbhajan Singh [images] India Mumbai 8,50,000 2,50,000 Sanath Jayasuriya Sri Lanka Mumbai 9,75,000 2,50,000 Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka Mohali 7,00,000 2,50,000 Glenn McGrath Australia - No bid 3,50,000 Mohammad Yousuf [images] Pakistan - No bid 3,30,000 Round 3 (Report) Ricky Ponting [images] Australia Kolkata 4,00,000 3,35,000 Brett Lee [images] Australia Mohali 9,00,000 3,00,000 Andrew Symonds [images] Australia Hyderabad 1.35m 2,50,000 Michael Hussey Australia - No bid 2,50,000 Daniel Vettori [images] New Zealand [images] Delhi 6,25,000 2,50,000 Matthew Hayden [images] Australia Chennai 3,75,000 2,25,000 Brendon McCullum New Zealand Kolkata 7,00,000 1,75,000 Jacob Oram [images] New Zealand Chennai 6,75,000 2,00,000 Round 4 (Report) Stephen Fleming [images] New Zealand Chennai 3,50,000 3,50,000 Graeme Smith [images] South Africa Jaipur 2,50,000 2,50,000 Herschelle Gibbs [images] South Africa Hyderabad 5,75,000 2,50,000 Chris Gayle West Indies [images] Kolkata 8,00,000 2,50,000 Shoaib Malik [images] Pakistan Delhi 5,00,000 3,00,000 Shahid Afridi [images] Pakistan Hyderabad 6,75,000 2,25,000 Younis Khan Pakistan Jaipur 2,25,000 2,25,000 Mohammad Asif [images] Pakistan Delhi 6,50,000 2,25,000 Jacques Kallis [images] South Africa Bangalore 9,00,000 2,25,000 Zaheer Khan [images] India Bangalore 4,50,000 2,00,000 S Sreesanth [images] India Mohali 6,25,000 2,00,000 Round 5 Dinesh Karthik India Delhi 5,25,000 2,00,000 AB de Villiers South Africa Delhi 3,00,000 2,00,000 Mark Boucher South Africa Bangalore 4,50,000 2,00,000 Parthiv Patel India Chennai 3,25,000 1,50,000 Kamran Akmal Pakistan Jaipur 1,50,000 1,50,000 Tatenda Taibu Zimbabwe - No bid 1,25,000

[Chandan]

And the team till now is: Virender Sehwag (icon), Daniel Vettori (US$ 625,000), Shoaib Malik (US$ 500,000), Mohammad Asif (US$ 650,000), AB de Villiers (US$ 300,000), Dinesh Karthik (US$ 525,000), Farveez Maharoof (US$ 225,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan (US$ 250,000), Manoj Tiwary (US$ 675,000), Gautam Gambhir (US$ 725,000) I still can't believe why didn't they go for Ishant? He is the local man afterall!!

[Cricketics]

i am really frustrated.. they should have let localz play for their own state..

[chamatkar]

I'm still reeling that freaking Tiwary is getting paid more than Asif, Vettori, Malik... These owners are mixing business and nationalism.

[bunny]

I'm still reeling that freaking Tiwary is getting paid more than Asif, Vettori, Malik... These owners are mixing business and nationalism.

Tiwary didn't deserve 600,000$ but a lot of the other Indians did because of the rule that only 4 overseas players can play. Hence, there was a big war for the Indian players.

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In Privileged League, Tiwary promises help A sum of $ 6,75,000 can be staggering for someone in his early 20s even if he is a cricketer in India, reports Atreyo Mukhopadhyay. More... Atreyo Mukhopadhyay, Hindustan Times Sydney, February 21, 2008 First Published: 01:38 IST(21/2/2008) Last Updated: 01:54 IST(21/2/2008) A sum of $ 6,75,000 can be staggering for someone in his early 20s even if he is a cricketer in India. It's much more than what the winner of Kaun Banega Crorepati got and if the recipient is from a lower middle-class family with childhood memories of a struggle against financial constraints, this figure of over Rs 2 crore can be numbing. So Manoj Tiwary, as you can guess, was comfortably numb after hearing the price he had fetched at the great Indian cricket auction on Wednesday. A place in the Indian squad was more than what he had expected. And this, after that! "Good news, great, yet to believe it's happened. Don't know what to say… God is great," he mumbled while having dinner with Manoj Roy, a former teammate at Kalighat Club, who lives here now. Speaking to HT afterwards, when the euphoria had sunk in somewhat, Tiwary revealed a hitherto unseen side of his character. Thoughts of buying a house for his parents who "struggled a lot to educate their three sons in an English medium school", were obviously there as was the plan to give shape to certain other dreams. Also, there was a promise to help others chase their dreams. Tiwary said foremost among his plans is to help 'Sir' Manabendra Ghosh set up a modern and fully-equipped cricket coaching centre and support aspiring players who don't have the financial strength to pursue a career in the sport. "He (Ghosh) has taught me a lot of things apart from the nuances of cricket. He bought equipment for me because my parents couldn't afford them. If ever I have the money, I will do something similar." Thoughts on his own cricket too is on his mind. "All this has happened because of my cricket, no denying that, so I must keep getting better at it." He has a few other plans too. "I have always been affected by the sight of poor kids begging on the roads. I had always thought of opening an orphanage. If things keep heading in the direction they have been, I will do it." Cricket is a well-paying profession in India and Tiwary had already been listed on the group of BCCI Grade D contract holders who get a sum of Rs 15 lakh per year apart from match fees. But for the second son of this Eastern Railway employee, this is not going to be the end of his life. "I told you earlier that I have had to come through a lot of financial strife. We were not very well off. This contract will take care of a lot of things. I will be able to concentrate fully on cricket without thinking of anything else here on. This will change my life but not infinitely. I have a lot to do for a lot of people who need help. My experience teaches me that." Not many who have ensured big pay packs may think on these lines, but since cutting his teeth into first-class cricket, Tiwary has looked different. He has talked differently on his biggest day too. Here's hoping he was not being comfortably numb.

[amits]

IPL Team - Delhi Daredevils looking that all other IPL teams r getting their own threads, so i decided to make 1 for the Delhi Daredevils as well. after the bidding, the delhi team looks like - Virender Sehwag (icon), Daniel Vettori (US$625,000), Shoaib Malik (US$500,000), Mohammad Asif (US$650,000), AB de Villiers (US$300,000), Dinesh Karthik (US$525,000), Farveez Maharoof (US$225,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan (US$250,000), Manoj Tiwary (US$675,000), Gautam Gambhir (US$725,000), Glenn McGrath (US$350,000) looking at this, delhi have got the indian 20/20 opening combo of sehwag & gambhir in their team, with players like malik, devilliers, tiwary, dilshan & dinesh kartik in the middle-order. a decent middle-order for 20/20. devilliers and dinesh kartik can provide the big-hitting if required. the bowling has 2 line and length bowlers in asif & mcgrath who will be difficult to get away and spinner daniel vettori who went for <6 rpo in the 20/20 world cup. and there is maharoof, the hard-hitting all-rounder from sl. and also, delhi have a decent fielding side as well with gambhir, tiwary, devilliers & dilshan being excellent fielders but out of all the teams, delhi will end up getting the strongest team. in ipl, at most 4 foreign players can play at the same time for a given team, so it can weaken some teams which look to be very balanced. delhis catchment areas include delhi & up, both the finalists from this years ranji trophy & both have exciting youngsters which will be playing for delhi team in ipl - shikhar dhawan(highest run getter in 2004 u-19 wc & eurasia cup 2006) pravin kumar(highest wicket taker for in 2005/06 ranji trophy taking up to a ranji win) sudeep tyagi(highest wicket taker in 2007/08 ranji trophy) virat kohli(india u-19 captain) pradeep sangwan(india u-19 fast bowler) tanmay srivastav(india u-19 opening batsman) and add it to it, experienced ranji players like manhas & bhatia will also be signed up by delhi, so if u include the local cricketers as well to the squads after bidding, delhi will end up with the strongest squad. and look at the indian players squad of the delhi ipl team. no other ipl team can have such a strong indian squad - Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Manoj Tiwary, Gautam Gambhir, Pravin Kumar, Sudip Tyagi, Tanmay Srivastav, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Pradeep Sangwan, Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia comparing the indian squads of the ipl teams will give better ideas about a teams strength

[Desi Cartman]

Good post mate ... and yes Dilli will win :psalute::psalute::psalute::psalute::psalute::psalute::psalute::psalute::psalute::psalute:

[amits]

Delhi-based IPL outfit wait on Sehwag's 'icon' status Greg Shipperd to coach Delhi Daredevils Cricinfo staff February 19, 2008 Greg Shipperd, the Victoria coach, will take up an assignment with the Delhi Daredevils, the Delhi-based IPL franchise, which also appointed TA Sekar, the chief coach at the MRF Pace Academy, to be in charge of it's cricket operations. Meanwhile, the GMR Group, the owners of the franchise, said that Virender Sehwag will lead the side in case their request to the IPL governing council to grant him 'icon' status, which means that he will not be available for tomorrow's player auction, is accepted. "Though it has not been finalised, he would lead the team if our request is considered," B Vanchi, a senior director of GRM Group, said at a press conference organised at the Ferozshah Kotla, where the Delhi-based team kick off their IPL campaign when they take on their Jaipur counterparts on April 19. Meanwhile, Sekar said that one of his first tasks would be to get the Delhi Ranji trio of Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia and Shikhar Dhawan, on board, adding, "In the mandatory under-22 category, we have identified Viraat Kohli, Pradeep Sangwan and Tanmay Srivastava of UP [uttar Pradesh]". © Cricinfo

[amits]

News Pravin Kumar to play for 'Delhi Daredevils' in IPL PTI PrintSaveWrite to EditorMail KANPUR, February 22: Rookie Uttar Pradesh all-rounder Pravin Kumar will be a part of the Delhi franchise of the Indian Premier League, for which players were recently auctioned in Mumbai. Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, RP Singh and Piyush Chawla are the other players from the state who will be seen in action under various club banners in the eight-team Twenty20 competition from April 18 to June 1. "Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, RP Singh and Piyush Chawla of Uttar Pradesh have already been purchased by various IPL franchises. Now Pravin Kumar will be playing for the Delhi team," said Rajiv Shukla, the BCCI Vice-President and Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association. The price-money for which Kumar will offer his services to the GMR-group owned team was not known but Shukla said many more upcoming players, including Tanmay Srivastava and Sudip Tyagi, from the state would also be involved in the tournament. "The IPL would vastly benefit the Indian cricket as it has made it compulsory to play four Under-22 cricketers to provide opportunities to local talent," he said. The Virender Sehwag-led 'Delhi Daredevils' franchise also includes the likes of Glenn McGrath, Daniel Vettori and Shoaib Malik.

[Chandan]

Sorry Amit, but it seems as if Bangalore royal challengers have snapped up Praveen Kumar. But Delhi daredevils have one news to cheer about: Auction over, GMR take Bhatia on board Anand Vasu New Delhi THE GLITZ and glamour of the IPL auction may be well behind the eight franchisees but the frantic negotiations with players has continued unabated. With teams vying for certain key players from domestic cricket, players are holding out, and negotiating directly with franchisees to see just how much they can earn, after the big stars have got their share. GMR Delhi have made their first non-auction signing, getting Rajat Bhatia on board. "Bhatia fits the bill perfectly for this form of the game," T.A. Sekar, former india fast bowler and vice-president of the GMR Delhi Daredevils, told the Hindustan Times on Friday. "He is a very intelligent cricketer and now people have begun to understand that Twenty20 is not just about thrashing the ball. He bowls steady medium pace, and on a turning track, he can send down pretty nasty offbreaks because he hits the deck very hard". New signings "We're not signing up just anyone and everyone, the key is that the player has to have cricketing acumen needed to play 1his form of the game," Sekar said. "I've been involved in spotting talent and picking teams for about 20 years now, and had a clear strategy for this auction. The first thing I looked for is whether a player had the ability to innovate with his main skill, be it bowling or batting. The second was age- I was not too keen on someone who is 37 or 38. The third was that I did not want players who would he unavailable, like the Australians. Finally I wanted batsmen who can play in different positions. "The other thing that I kept in mind was that signing big names could put you in an awkward position if you had to drop a player in order to get the right combination. ' said Sekar. Yogesh Shotty, CEO of GMR sports, was over the moon with the way the auctions went. "We went into the auction with a wish list of nine players and we got eight of them. In an open auction that is a great result said Shetty. "I don't know how other teams went about their selection but we were very clear there needed to be a strong connect and continuity, or the fans would not he able to identify with the team. We didnt want to have players who would come in for a few days and then leave. Perfect combination? "We have Sehwag and Gambhir opening, then we have two Sri Lankans, we've got two Pakistanis, the way we planned it. There would already be a good rapport within the team from day one.' said Shetty. "Also we wanted people who could play in these conditions. given that the tournament was happening during our summer. A certain player may be very good in an Australian team, but he may not he as effective in in another team. If you took an Indian player and put him in an American basketball team, how well would he fare'? How much time would it take him to adapt'?' Shetty also stressed that players were not picked simply with marketability in mind as GMR did not view this purely as a branding exercise. "We're looking at this as a business set-up, a separate entity we need to build," he said. "What we're thinking about is how things will look five years from now. Naturally, in the beginning we have to pump money. You can't look at it purely from a cash value, you have to look at the strategic value. A lot of people keep asking how we can make many out of this. To them I can only say: even today if I wanted to exit from this it would make money. There would be people ready to buy this team at a value higher than the price we paid."

[Kartikey]

I'm supporting Delhi but to be honest, other teams are stronger.

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Rumblings of discontent in Daredevils Two out of the five cricketers Delhi Daredevils signed up have problems playing for Delhi, reports Anand Vasu. More... Rumblings of discontent in Daredevils Anand Vasu, Hindustan Times New Delhi, March 08, 2008 First Published: 02:10 IST(8/3/2008) Last Updated: 02:23 IST(8/3/2008) The second round of the Indian Premier League auctions — minus the razzmatazz and glamour of the grand event in Mumbai on February 20 — is just round the corner but it seems that the GMR Delhi Daredevils may have a problem on their hands with their existing players. And it's a local headache. Although the eleven players they picked up at the auction are well settled, at least two of the five domestic cricketers they've signed up are not entirely happy. Rajat Bhatia, Mithun Manhas, Vijaykumar Yomahesh, Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Tehlan signed on the dotted line when they were offered a Memorandum of Understanding by the Delhi franchisee. Of these, two players — who did not want to be named for obvious reasons — confided that they had problems with playing for Delhi. While they were not specific in the nature of their complaints, the players hinted that they were looking for better offers from other franchisees and also feared that they may not get enough chances in the playing eleven with the Daredevils boasting a star-studded squad. Another area of concern is that they have not yet seen the long-form contracts and are worried about restrictive clauses that might be in them. For probably the first time in Indian cricket, players are going to have to sign detailed contracts tailored specifically to individuals that clearly spell out what they can and cannot do, and how their actions will affect their prospects. For example there could be restrictions on late-night parties or the consumption of alcohol on the eve of a match. "Yes, I have signed a piece of paper but at the moment I can't say for sure that I will be playing for the Daredevils," a player told the Hindustan Times. When contacted, a highly placed Daredevils official said he was not aware of any player wanting to back out of the MoU signed. The IPL governing council, however, is aware of the dangerous precedent it would set if it allowed a player to renege on a contract signed with a team and move elsewhere. It ruled firmly on the case of Praveen Kumar, who was signed up by the Bangalore Royal Challengers even before the auction for a price well above his base price, and later wanted to move to the Daredevils because he was being offered more money. In the end he had to honour the contract he had signed with the Bangalore franchisee. For the moment it appears as though the Delhi players will have to go the same way as this problem seems to be an isolated case. HT spoke to senior officials in the Kolkata, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai franchisees and none of them had similar problems with their players.