Delhi Daredevils coach Eric Simons is all praise for his new captain
Kevin Pietersen has such a persona that anyone can be over-awed by it. His brazen confidence, immense talent, flamboyance and nonconformist attitude make him an attractive figure — even without counting his good looks. He seems unreal until he surprises everyone with his susceptibility, both on and off the field.
His exploits with the bat, that has made him one of the most captivating batsmen to have ever played cricket for England, and the off-field controversies that he has been involved in, divide the world into two extremes.For one side he is a hero who gives them happiness by helping his team conquer the world and for the other he is a villain who wants to divide English team.
Delhi Daredevils coach Eric Simons belongs to the first set of people. For him, Pietersen is a misunderstood man who speaks truth in the world full of hypocrites.
“He is brilliant. I am a big fan of Kevin Pietersen. I have always said that he is misunderstood. If you ask Kevin a question he is going to tell the truth and if you don’t like the truth then don’t ask him the question because that’s the way Kevin is,” Simons said after Delhi Daredevils second practice session for the Indian Premier league’s seventh which begins on the 16th of April in Abu Dhabi.
“We spend so much money in the world of sport to try and make players confident and when someone comes with natural confidence, we don’t like it. He has got that confidence and he rubs it on people. He makes our boys confident and that’s the way he is.
“I can’t believe that any team in the world can do that. He is an exceptional player and person. As coaches, our first job is to understand our players not their job to understand us.“He is not a problem child. He is a very good man. People don’t understand him,” he added.
Pietersen is appointed as captain of Delhi Daredevils for this year’s IPl despite his one and only failed attempt at the leadership in 2008 which lasted only five months as he was forced to resign after his rift with the then England coach Peter Moores came out in open.
But Simons feel the South African born cricketer has grown up as a person since then.“I had quite a few long chats with him. We all grow up as a person. I coached African team in 2003 and I have grown tremendously as a coach in these 10 years. Kevin Pietersen was captain five-six years ago and since then he has grown a person, player and captain.
“He wants to lead men. He is a leader of men. He is an exceptionally good man. People don’t understand him,” said Simons showing confidence in his captain.Simons has been joined by former India coach Gary Kirsten (head coach) in the Daredevils coaching staff to make it the same combination that helped India win 2011 World Cup.Simons, though, is hopeful of recreating the same magic again, he feels there is a need to adapt to the new format as well as with each other.
“There is a certain core philosophy that we work with. It will always be the same but you have to adapt. IPl is a very special place to coach, to be involved with and you have to adapt to it. I have been involved since 2009 and we have worked away from each other, so between us we have adapt to the way we work but the core values has always been the same,” Simons said.
Before this season, Delhi Daredevils made an unusual choice of not retaining any of their players from the previous season and they let go off proven match winners like Virender Sehwag and David Warner but Simons said the new team is a balanced one and they are not reliant on one particular player.
“It has its pros and cons. Someone like Viru, he is a proven match winner, he scores runs at an incredible rate and he is a legend of the game but sometimes it puts us two steps back. But, now we know the eleven guys who come on the field, particularly from the Indian perspective, they have got a chance to make a name for themselves. Some one like Dinesh Karthik is around for a while and he had a great IPl last year,” he said.
“I think it’s an opportunity for them (to establish themselves). It’s nice to have someone like Viru but again I really believe that we have got options here. We are not over-reliant on one particular player,” Simons, who has also worked with the Indian team, added.