JOIN USYoung batsman Sanju Samson acknowledged the good run of new franchise Gujarat Lions but said Delhi Daredevils were ready to them on at home on Wednesday.
Gujarat are packed with power hitters of the likes of Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum but Samson said they have a plan for everyone in place.
“Every team is tough to play in this tournament. Gujarat has been doing well and we will have to respect them. But nothing changes in the preparation. Planning wise we do talk about our opponents and set clear plans, we are ready for the game,” Samson told reporters on Tuesday.
“We have plans for everyone and I hope it goes well tomorrow.”
Samson, who sparkled against Mumbai Indians with a well-paced 60, credited his growth as a cricketer to the team’s mentor Rahul Dravid.
“We have lots of youngsters in the team so a mentor like Rahul sir motivates us to perform at this level of cricket. It's good to see that we all are doing well,” he said.
“I think I am getting better as a cricketer every year. Mostly I take my learning and experience from Rahul sir and talk to the experienced team management. It's all about what your team needs from you.”
Gujarat’s head coach Brad Hodge said they have sufficient match winners in their side to ensure there is no loss of momentum.
“We have got a lot of match-winners in our side and if a couple of them fire in any particular game then it’s going to be awfully hard for opposition teams,” Hodge said.
“We just need to make sure that consistency keeps going throughout the tournament. We had a really poor outing against Sunrisers Hyderabad. But we have laid that to rest and I feel across the board we have played really strong cricket with bat and ball and also on the field.”
However, Gujarat face uncertainty on the participation of Finch who injured his hamstring in the last game. “Aaron is 50-50 at this stage. He just went off to see a specialist in Mumbai. He will fly back and join the team. We will assess his condition tomorrow,” said Hodge.
“It's more of a precautionary thing. He had an injury in Australia and he just felt something which isn't quite right so that's why he came off the field in the last game. He didn't want to have the same injury.”