NEW DELHI: The general psyche of most cricketers when they come for a net session is to get hold of the bat and ball and straight away get into individual drills after regulation warm-ups.
However, the
Delhi Daredevils
, which has always been a home for young talent, are focusing on how to strengthen team bonding. And who else would know how to bond other than their new coach and former World Cup winning captain
Ricky Ponting.
Yes, fielding drills could be boring and unnecessarily tiring and at times can take the enthusiasm off the nets. But miles away from the
Steve Smith and
David Warner's ball-tampering controversy and with the media waiting in the wings to get a quick reaction, Ponting is unfazed by it all as he has a style of his own. Engaging the players through fielding drills has become an integral part of his training. It is as if he wants his players to develop an attitude on the field and using those extra hours of fielding drills could possibly ensure a team bonding. Who knows?
For the second day in a row, Delhi spent considerable time with the pick-up throws, close and long catching, hitting the stumps practice, cover-up for over-throws practice and so on and so forth. It was an amazing scene at the
Ferozshah Kotla
at dusk on Thursday when all the Indian recruits of the Daredevils like Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were seen actively taking part in the fielding drills.
Not many would have enjoyed it fully, especially as it was an extended session. Despite the propensity to hit the nets was quite apparent, Ponting revealed to them that fielding drill is also about being together on the field. That is because there is nothing more important than bonding well as a team.
Talking about team bonding, the Daredevils have seen it all. Right from their coach Greg Shipperd,
Gary Kirsten, Eric Simons to
Rahul Dravid -- all came with their style and produced players of repute from this franchisee. But none of them could make them win the title.
Ponting, however, comes with a plenty of reputation. Having successfully coached the Mumbai Indians in the past, there is a lot riding on him. The management isn't sure how different he would be as a coach for Delhi. But the strategy to bond well through fielding and taking other off-the-field decision is certainly making the team believe that here is someone who is really a hands-on coach.