Sehwag: Captaincy motivates me

Fresh from another triple hundred in the just-concluded Test series against South Africa, dashing Indian opener Virender Sehwag now looks to explore the all new world of the Indian Premier League as the captain of the Delhi Daredevils.

The Daredevils beat the Rajasthan Royals in their first match and skipper Sehwag is now on pins-and-needles for the second encounter against the imposing Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in an away clash today. Sehwag took time off for a free-wheeling chat with Gulf News just after the first match in Delhi. Following are excerpts.

Gulf News: So you are the captain of the Delhi Daredavils. How hopeful are you about your chances in the IPL?

Sehwag: We have a well balanced team and I think our team will go the distance. We are confident.

Are you happy with the team you have got?

Definitely. It's a great mix, really. Only Glenn McGrath, who is the oldest in our team, is 38, while all the others are relatively young. And you cannot have a Glenn McGrath everyday in your team, isn't it?

It is said that the Twenty20 game is for the younger generation ...

I was a member of the Indian team that had won the Twenty20 World Cup and we know that you need experienced cricketers around, who have played the game with some distinction. Personally speaking, I have great expectations from my young team.

Do you think the pressure of captaining the team will affect your performance?

I do not think so. I had led Delhi quite a few times and I like to lead by example, lead from the front. I shall be doing the same here. For me, captaincy has always been a motivating factor to perform even better.

Glenn McGrath, Daniel Vettori, Shoaib Malek, Mohammad Asif - you have so many foreign stars in your team ...

Each of them are professionals of the highest order. They do not need to be reminded about their duties. They have played all over the world and know exactly what they have to do to win matches. Honestly, I feel proud to have them in our team.

How is the environment in the dressing room?

We are definitely gelling well. The foreign cricketers know what they have to do against the Indians and these inputs will obviously be helpful for our bowlers.

Coming back to the last South Africa Test series, there were too many controversies regarding the Kanpur wicket. Your views ...

I do not understand this. When the Indian team plays in South Africa or in Australia, nobody says a thing about home advantages. Only when we win in India and the opposition team loses, the issue of home advantage is dug up. Everywhere in the world, the wickets are made keeping the home team in mind and what's wrong in that?

And how do you feel about your second triple hundred in Tests?

It was a wonderful feeling. very satisfying.