Legendary Australian pacer and current Delhi Daredevils spearhead Glenn McGrath on Monday scoffed at John Buchanan's multiple captain theory while endorsing the importance of a single skipper. "I have played under Buchanan and I know he has a lot of theories, may be this is another one. I don't know why he (Buchanan) has come up with this idea. I like a single captain idea.
"A good captain is one who uses his experience and takes the inputs and suggestions from other younger players of his team as well. But at the end of the day he should be the leader and accountable for his decisions," McGrath said on the sidelines of a programme to mark the team's send-off to South Africa. Former Australia World Cup winning Coach Buchanan, who is now manager of Kolkata Knight Riders, had suggested the multiple captain theory for the IPL second season, ruffling a few feathers including that of India great Sunil Gavaskar and former skipper Sourav Ganguly.
Talking about the challenges of the second edition of IPL, McGrath said conditions in South Africa would be similar to Australia and hoped to acclimatize soon. "I did enjoy the fan support and playing in Delhi last year but if I just think about the conditions, I feel it would be bouncy and quick, somewhat similar to what we have in Australia. I feel we can adjust to the conditions quite quickly," McGrath said. He said it was a tough decision for him to play in the second edition of IPL considering he has to take care of his children after losing wife Jane last year.
"It was a tough decision for me to play in the IPL. I have to take care of my kids, now that Jane is no more with us. But I enjoyed playing IPL last year and this is something special which I wanted to do for myself. "I didn't play cricket for the last 10 months but I hit the gym and worked out regularly. We had a 12 days training here and I hope to continue to build that up in the next few weeks bowling in South Africa, so that I can be at the top of my game before the season kicks off," he said.
The 39-year-old McGrath, who emerged as the most economical (6.61) bowler for his team last season, reckoned India vice-captain and Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag as one of the most destructive batsman he has ever bowled to and rated him highly as a captain. "I have always enjoyed bowling to Sehwag. As a skipper also I rate him highly, I have played under him and I hope this time we help him to win the cup," he said. The lanky McGrath also threw his weight behind Brett Lee. "Brett is very experienced and a class bowler and he has put a lot of hard work in this last few months and has grown much stronger," he said.
McGrath also feels IPL has lifted the Twenty20 version of the game. "Twenty20 is such a version where one can't afford to make any mistake, as a bowler you can't bowl 2-3 bad overs and I feel IPL has lifted the game as a whole," he said. Meanwhile, explosive Australian batsman David Warner, who would make his IPL debut this year, said he would like to show India's Virender Sehwag some pyrotechnics of his own if given a chance to open with the Delhi dasher. "I know it is up to the selectors to decide where I should bat and I can bat at any position. I don't have the experience like Sehwag and Gautam Gambir but if I am given a chance to open with Sehwag, I would like to show him some of my shots out of the park," he said.
Warner said his aim would be to win the title and bring it to Delhi. "Last year Delhi made it to the semi-final, so this time I would like to put it on board in the final and win the cup," Warner said. India discards Ashish Nehra, who switched loyalty from Mumbai Indians to Delhi Daredevils, said the domestic experience would help him to perform well this year. "Last year it was a good experience playing for Mumbai Indians. This year I have played a lot in the domestic circuit for Delhi and I hope this will help me perform better," he said.
"A good captain is one who uses his experience and takes the inputs and suggestions from other younger players of his team as well. But at the end of the day he should be the leader and accountable for his decisions," McGrath said on the sidelines of a programme to mark the team's send-off to South Africa. Former Australia World Cup winning Coach Buchanan, who is now manager of Kolkata Knight Riders, had suggested the multiple captain theory for the IPL second season, ruffling a few feathers including that of India great Sunil Gavaskar and former skipper Sourav Ganguly.
Talking about the challenges of the second edition of IPL, McGrath said conditions in South Africa would be similar to Australia and hoped to acclimatize soon. "I did enjoy the fan support and playing in Delhi last year but if I just think about the conditions, I feel it would be bouncy and quick, somewhat similar to what we have in Australia. I feel we can adjust to the conditions quite quickly," McGrath said. He said it was a tough decision for him to play in the second edition of IPL considering he has to take care of his children after losing wife Jane last year.
"It was a tough decision for me to play in the IPL. I have to take care of my kids, now that Jane is no more with us. But I enjoyed playing IPL last year and this is something special which I wanted to do for myself. "I didn't play cricket for the last 10 months but I hit the gym and worked out regularly. We had a 12 days training here and I hope to continue to build that up in the next few weeks bowling in South Africa, so that I can be at the top of my game before the season kicks off," he said.
The 39-year-old McGrath, who emerged as the most economical (6.61) bowler for his team last season, reckoned India vice-captain and Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag as one of the most destructive batsman he has ever bowled to and rated him highly as a captain. "I have always enjoyed bowling to Sehwag. As a skipper also I rate him highly, I have played under him and I hope this time we help him to win the cup," he said. The lanky McGrath also threw his weight behind Brett Lee. "Brett is very experienced and a class bowler and he has put a lot of hard work in this last few months and has grown much stronger," he said.
McGrath also feels IPL has lifted the Twenty20 version of the game. "Twenty20 is such a version where one can't afford to make any mistake, as a bowler you can't bowl 2-3 bad overs and I feel IPL has lifted the game as a whole," he said. Meanwhile, explosive Australian batsman David Warner, who would make his IPL debut this year, said he would like to show India's Virender Sehwag some pyrotechnics of his own if given a chance to open with the Delhi dasher. "I know it is up to the selectors to decide where I should bat and I can bat at any position. I don't have the experience like Sehwag and Gautam Gambir but if I am given a chance to open with Sehwag, I would like to show him some of my shots out of the park," he said.
Warner said his aim would be to win the title and bring it to Delhi. "Last year Delhi made it to the semi-final, so this time I would like to put it on board in the final and win the cup," Warner said. India discards Ashish Nehra, who switched loyalty from Mumbai Indians to Delhi Daredevils, said the domestic experience would help him to perform well this year. "Last year it was a good experience playing for Mumbai Indians. This year I have played a lot in the domestic circuit for Delhi and I hope this will help me perform better," he said.
