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| Adam Gilchrist |
At the age of 40, Adam Gilchrist is one of the elderly statesmen in the Indian Premier League this season.
However, instead of slowing down, the gritty Aussie has taken more responsibility upon himself as he prepares to both coach and lead the Kings XI Punjab this year.
The former Australian wicketkeeper-opener sounded really excited about his new role as he began training with his KXIP unit in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
"I am looking forward to a new role this year. I don't think there will be any sort of extra pressure on me because we have a very strong coaching unit to back me up. Vikram (Rathore) and Joe (Dawes) are very experienced and it will be good to have physio Patrick Farhart back with us," Gilchrist told TOI on Tuesday.
Gilly, who gave up all forms of international cricket five years back, still doesn't miss a trick when it comes to preparing for the IPL.
"We are all professional cricketers playing in this tournament. I don't think getting ourselves prepared for the tournament is an issue for us. I hit the gym a few weeks back to get into shape and have also been batting in the nets for some time now. I have played enough cricket in the sub-continent, so hitting top form in the IPL should not be an issue," he said.
Kings XI missed out on a play-off berth last season but had the chance of making the top 4 till their very last game. A loss to Deccan Chargers had dashed the hopes of Gilly's team then.
"The kind of build-up we had to the last season was not beneficial for anyone. We weren't even sure if we were going to be part of IPL-4. Considering that we still came to within a game of reaching the play-offs, was a brilliant effort by the team. This year we'll look to build on those gains and challenge for the play-off berth again," he said.
The skipper-cum-coach believes the strength of the Kings XI lies in their Indian all-rounders.
"We have a very good bunch of all-rounders with the likes of Abhishek Nayar, Piyush Chawla and Bipul Sharma. If you add Azhar Mahmood and England's Stuart Broad to this list, it shows the great depth we have. The pace attack is also very strong with Australians Ryan Harris and James Faulkner leading the way. Their contributions will be very useful if tracks at Mohali and Dharamshala provide some help to the fast bowlers," Gilchrist said.
The West Australian southpaw, who scored 383 runs with a century and two fifties last season, believes the ace-in-the-pack will once again be Shaun Marsh. The left-handed opener has been struggling with loss of form but the Australian has a special liking for the IPL.
In spite of being rather off colour last year, he still managed to tally 504 runs at an average of 42 and strike-rate of 146.
"There is no doubt that Marsh is an outstanding player. He is a very important cog in our team. Although he has had a tough time with the Australian team, I am sure he will find his rhythm in IPL soon," he said.
However, instead of slowing down, the gritty Aussie has taken more responsibility upon himself as he prepares to both coach and lead the Kings XI Punjab this year.
The former Australian wicketkeeper-opener sounded really excited about his new role as he began training with his KXIP unit in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
"I am looking forward to a new role this year. I don't think there will be any sort of extra pressure on me because we have a very strong coaching unit to back me up. Vikram (Rathore) and Joe (Dawes) are very experienced and it will be good to have physio Patrick Farhart back with us," Gilchrist told TOI on Tuesday.
Gilly, who gave up all forms of international cricket five years back, still doesn't miss a trick when it comes to preparing for the IPL.
"We are all professional cricketers playing in this tournament. I don't think getting ourselves prepared for the tournament is an issue for us. I hit the gym a few weeks back to get into shape and have also been batting in the nets for some time now. I have played enough cricket in the sub-continent, so hitting top form in the IPL should not be an issue," he said.
Kings XI missed out on a play-off berth last season but had the chance of making the top 4 till their very last game. A loss to Deccan Chargers had dashed the hopes of Gilly's team then.
"The kind of build-up we had to the last season was not beneficial for anyone. We weren't even sure if we were going to be part of IPL-4. Considering that we still came to within a game of reaching the play-offs, was a brilliant effort by the team. This year we'll look to build on those gains and challenge for the play-off berth again," he said.
The skipper-cum-coach believes the strength of the Kings XI lies in their Indian all-rounders.
"We have a very good bunch of all-rounders with the likes of Abhishek Nayar, Piyush Chawla and Bipul Sharma. If you add Azhar Mahmood and England's Stuart Broad to this list, it shows the great depth we have. The pace attack is also very strong with Australians Ryan Harris and James Faulkner leading the way. Their contributions will be very useful if tracks at Mohali and Dharamshala provide some help to the fast bowlers," Gilchrist said.
The West Australian southpaw, who scored 383 runs with a century and two fifties last season, believes the ace-in-the-pack will once again be Shaun Marsh. The left-handed opener has been struggling with loss of form but the Australian has a special liking for the IPL.
In spite of being rather off colour last year, he still managed to tally 504 runs at an average of 42 and strike-rate of 146.
"There is no doubt that Marsh is an outstanding player. He is a very important cog in our team. Although he has had a tough time with the Australian team, I am sure he will find his rhythm in IPL soon," he said.
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