RAVI SHASTRI, WATSON, GEARED UP FOR DHONI-PANT CLASH
Team India head coach Ravi Shastri is excited to witness the clash between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Delhi Capitals in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday.
Newly-appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant in his first game as captain will face former India skipper MS Dhoni and Shastri is excited for the ‘Master versus Disciple’ show in the IPL match. “Guru vs Chela. Bahot Maza aayega aaj. Stump Mic suniyega zaroor #Dhonireturns #Pant #IPL2021,” Shastri tweeted.
Pant is also looking forward to leading the team for the first time and the wicket-keeper batsman said it will be “extra special to walk out for the toss with Dhoni”.
“It will be extra special to walk out for the toss with MS Dhoni tomorrow. This will be the first time that I will be leading an IPL team and the first match is against Mahi bhai. I have learned a lot from him, and I have gained a lot of experience from him. Hopefully, I can use this experience against him, and we can win this match. That’s what I am looking forward to,” Pant said in a statement.
Pant added that the Delhi Capitals squad, for the IPL 2021, has a great mix of experience and youth. “I have been talking to the senior players like Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane about the fields we can set and other strategic decisions for the team.
I have been talking to Ricky and our bowling coach James Hopes as well. There’s a good mix of seniors and juniors in our squad and I think with the help of Ricky, we can do something different this year,” the skipper said.
On the other hand, despite witnessing a dismal run in the last season, CSK will still enter the 2021 edition of the IPL as one of the favourites, given the franchise’s track record on Indian soil. Not to forget the experience the side has at its disposal.
The team will step into the new season with several changes as Shane Watson retired from all forms of cricket following last year’s IPL while CSK opted not to retain Harbhajan Singh.
Despite the absence of these two, CSK still has surfeit experience in the squad. Also, the Dhoniled team will see the return of Suresh Raina, who had missed the last edition of the tournament.
Former Australia and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsman Shane Watson wants CSK to lift the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 trophy.
Watson, who retired from all forms of cricket in November 2020, played his last match for CSK in October 2020 in the 13th edition of the IPL. The former Australia all-rounder, who anchored and scripted CSK’S title win in 2018, wants the MS Dhoni-led side to clinch the fourth IPL trophy having already won three in the showpiece event.
“Best of luck @chennaiipl for your first match of the season. Let’s make it 4 @iplt20 titles #whistlepodu,” Watson captioned the post on Instagram. Watson had already ended his international career in March 2016 and had only been playing in overseas T20 leagues but after CSK’S exit from the 13th edition of the IPL, he called off a 20-year-long illustrious career during which he was one of the world’s premier white-ball all-rounders.