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Adam Gilchrist confident of Deccan encore

The Deccan Chargers captain believed the excellent team spirit and the new inclusions in the team would be crucial in ensuring success again

Cricinfo staff
04-Mar-2010
"I am looking forward to playing positive and entertaining cricket again"  •  Associated Press

"I am looking forward to playing positive and entertaining cricket again"  •  Associated Press

Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist is confident of reworking the magic that helped them lift the title in the second season of the IPL. He believed the team spirit and the new inclusions in the squad would be crucial in ensuring success again. "We've got a great bond that is a legacy of last year's victory," Gilchrist told the Deccan Chronicle. "It's certainly something that will be an asset for us."
The defending champions had purchased Kemar Roach, the West Indies fast bowler, for $720,000 during the auction in January and also recruited Mitchell Marsh, who led Australia Under-19 team to success in the World Cup.
"We are very excited about the new players," Gilchrist said. "I am looking forward to playing positive and entertaining cricket again. We've made up for the loss of [fast bowler] Fidel Edwards with the inclusion of Kemar Roach - he was very impressive during West Indies' series in Australia. Then there is young Mitchell Marsh, an exciting talent who has captained the Australian Under-19 team to the World Cup triumph recently.
"Marsh is a hard-hitting batsman and a good bowler. We've got some superb youngsters among the local players as well - Monish Mishra and Rahul Sharma to name a couple, have been very impressive during our practice sessions."
However, Gilchrist said it may be a while before Deccan hit top gear with the entire squad unavailable initially. "We do not have the whole squad together for the first couple of games. The Indian players are sort of on-and-off owing to commitments in domestic matches. It's a little bit tight but we will be fine once we get into the tournament."
Gilchrist, along with fellow-Australian Matthew Hayden of the Chennai Super Kings, were among the foreign players who had confirmed their participation for the third edition early, and he dismissed security fears surrounding the tournament. "I've been here for six days and feel very comfortable with the security arrangements," Gilchrist said. "Obviously, once the tournament gets underway, I've got no doubt the IPL will be doing all that it can to create a secure environment."
However, he was disheartened that Hyderabad will not host any matches. Hyderabad, Deccan's home ground, will not be hosting any matches in the third season of the tournament following a decision of the league to shift all matches scheduled to be held in Andhra Pradesh. The move was perceived as a response to the sporadic violence that has hit the region due to a separatist movement in the state. According to the revised schedule, Deccan would be playing their home games across three venues in Mumbai, Nagpur and Cuttack.
"It is extremely disappointing that we won't be playing in front of the home crowd, that's frustrating. I do feel for the Hyderabadi people," he said. "But I don't see that as a negative about how we will go about our cricket. We will try and focus on the grounds where we are going to play."
Deccan begin their campaign with the IPL opener against Kolkata Kinight Riders at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai on March 12.