Delhi Capitals, last year's runners-up, want to go a step further this year and lift their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy, says assistant coach Mohammad Kaif. The former India batsman attended his first practice session with the team on Saturday and feels they have the players to end their title drought this year. After regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of IPL 2021 with an injury, the Delhi-based outfit have given the reins of the team to Rishabh Pant for the upcoming season.
"We want to go one step further this year and that's the Delhi Capitals team goal. We have the players to win the title. We were very close last year and the plus point for this season is that most of the players such as Rishabh Pant have been playing a lot of cricket. They have been in touch with the game and therefore they are in good rhythm going into the IPL," said Kaif, in a DC press release.
In the absence of head coach Ricky Ponting who is still in quarantine, Kaif looked after the team's practice session, held at Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.
Kaif, famous for his athleticism during his playing days, decided to test players' fielding skills by making them take catches under lights. The 40-year-old former batsman was delighted to meet the young talents along with experienced campaigners like Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin.
"The players have been carrying out batting and bowling drills in the last few days. As a coaching group we decided to focus on fielding skills in today's practice session. The players took some catches under lights. It was a great session. I got to meet many young players in the team and the experienced ones as well. I had a good chat with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane," Kaif was quoted as saying in the media release.
Delhi Capitals will begin their IPL 2021 campaign against three-time champions Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on April 10.