Delhi Daredevils rope S Vidyut into support staff
What's the story?
Delhi Daredevils have acquired the services of former Tamil Nadu cricketer Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan as part of their support staff for their pre-season training camp ahead of IPL 2018.
"It's a great opportunity for me. I'm eager to pick up a few key things from the likes of [Ricky] Ponting, [Pravin] Amre and [Sridharan] Sriram. As of now, I will be with the team for their pre-season camp till the end of April first week," Vidyut told the Times of India from Delhi.
In case you didn't know...
Vidyut, who represented his state in 55 first-class matches, 53 List-A games and 25 T20s, was the head coach of the Madurai Supergiant side in the previous edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League and the assistant coach of the Hubli Tigers in the Karnataka Premier League. This will be the first time that he will be a part of the support staff of an IPL side.
The heart of the matter
Vidyut, 36, has also played for India A and the Chennai Super Kings in the past and has previous coaching experience, which includes guiding the Tamil Nadu Under-19 side this season. Besides that, he has mentored multiple Chennai cricketers, and even possesses a unique feat of having struck a first-class century batting at number 11.
The former left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder often went unnoticed, despite being a part of the India Under-19 side which went on to lift the Under-19 World Cup in 2000 under Mohammad Kaif, a team which also included Yuvraj Singh.
What's next?
The 11th season of the IPL commences on April 7 with defending champions the Mumbai Indians taking on the Chennai Super Kings at home, with the final also scheduled to take place at the Wankhede Stadium on May 27. The Delhi Daredevils start their campaign against the Kings XI Punjab at Mohali on April 8.
Author's take
With a packed support staff including the likes of head coach Ricky Ponting, bowling coach James Hopes, fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh, assistant coaches Pravin Amre and Sridharan Sriram, team manager Sunil Valson, physiotherapist Paul Close and fitness coach Rajnikanth Sivagnanam it remains to be seen what role Vidyut will take up in the Delhi Daredevils dressing room.
However, it is safe to assume that he would probably guide the spinners in the squad in the pre-season camp.