Can't think of a better pair than Eoin Morgan and Stephen Fleming to lead the Delhi Bulls, says Anis Sajan
The team mentor of the newly revamped Delhi Bulls, previously known as Bengal Tigers, Anis Sajan has revealed exclusively to SportsCafe that England's World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan will be leading the Bulls. Meanwhile, coach Stephen Fleming is glad about Morgan's signing.
A die-hard fan of cricket, the Mumbai-born Anis Sajan is also the team manager of Delhi Bulls franchise of the T10 and he is more than excited to welcome a new season with a new name, new crest and a new captain. The owners and management decided to rename the Bengal Tigers and they came up with Delhi Bulls since Delhi is the "heart of cricket in India" . The third edition of the UAE T10 league will start on November 14.
"Not to demean Bengal at all, but when we consider cricket in India, Delhi is the heart of it and also the Indian captain belongs to Delhi. And it was after a round of discussion with the partners that we finalised on the name. Meanwhile, another team rebranded as Bangla Tigers to publicize and gain the support of the Bangladeshi community in UAE," team manager of the Delhi Bulls said.
With no doubt in mind and a mutual discussion with the team owners Rizwan Sajan and Neelesh Bhatnagar, he went on to rope in Eoin Morgan as the skipper of the side. In the previous season, wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings was the captain of the Bengal Tigers.
While Morgan himself recognizes Sajan as 'Mr Cricket of UAE', Sajan heaped praise on the captain, a player who he adores very much.
"Didn't even think twice before signing Morgan, I grabbed the opportunity with both my hands. All of us were on the same page about Morgan and when I spoke to our coach Stephen Fleming, his words were 'just have him on board.
"He is an iconic man in the game of cricket, he was responsible for changing the style of play in England something that led to the team lifting the World Cup this year," Sajan, speaking to SportsCafe, said about Eoin Morgan. "He's a very cool character like MS Dhoni, as you've seen that Morgan doesn't show his emotions as explicitly, is very level-headed, possess a very good cricketing brain. He'd be an asset for our franchise."
Sajan brands Morgan as an influential captain, who takes the responsibility of the team he's leading and takes the game forward. "He leads from the front, a great captain. He's a team man through and through. Cricket is something I carry in my heart every second and I've followed every game since India won the World Cup in 1983. When it comes to England, the way the team has evolved under Morgan is exceptional. He was the captain of the side they made a disappointing exit from the 2015 World Cup, the team criticised for following the old brand of cricket.
"But it is remarkable to see his partnership with Andrew Strauss and Trevor Bayliss work out so well for England. The fearless brand of cricket is what the Morgan era has brought about for English cricket which was missing before. The number of 300+ totals in ODIs for England have skyrocketed. So having him as our skipper would be meaningful in terms of that. Also, his cricketing brain could help us take our name forward," Sajan added.
The Delhi Bulls mentor is passionate about his players and appreciates them for the talent that they are. He sounded very excited while speaking about the players the franchise has decided to retain. The first draft ascertains Afghanistan's star all-rounder Mohammad Nabi's place in the squad, who will be the vice-captain of the Bulls. "We have Nabi, the star all-rounder from Afghanistan. He was there with us in the previous season, he knows the team well and will be our vice-captain for this edition."
"We've got Kusal Perera, the swashbuckling opener from Sri Lanka. What a star! What a match-winning role he played in the 2-0 triumph in South Africa. We're happy to have Perera in our brigade.
"We also picked Asif Ali from Pakistan, the hard-hitting player who has a strike of 140 in T20s. Last year he didn't play due to his national duties but he was in my team. However, we share a special bond since he has played for my local team the Danube cricket team, the Danube Lions to be exact. A lot of Pakistani cricketers like Yasir Shah, Fakhar Zaman and Asif Ali have played for my team," said the ambassador of indoor cricket.
"We have also retained Sherfane Rutherford of West Indies who has his T20 expertise and has played in the IPL, so yeah, he will continue with us. He played exceptionally well for us in the last season. So these are the players we have retained so far."
Sajan, who was the mentor of the India indoor cricket team during the World Indoor Cricket Federation (WICF) World Cup held in Dubai in 2017, is keen on retaining Zaheer Khan who had represented them in the past season. "We're looking at signing Zaheer Khan once again but we'll be able to confirm the news after I return to India, hopefully, next week. We might even sign Virender Sehwag. It all depends on their availability."
The owner of the Danube Lions, Sajan also had a relationship based on mutual respect with their coach Stephen Fleming. "He was our coach last year and the chemistry that was built is incredible. He's such a big coach, and he didn't even come for any extra money, he came because he respects my passion for the game and we connected very well since we first met. I don't think I'd ever get a better coach than him.
"He's a fantastic coach, very level-headed, the reason for Chennai Super Kings doing so well in the IPL besides MS Dhoni of course. Both Morgan and Stephen have expressed their respect for one another to me and I'm happy that I have such cricketers to lead my team. So looking forward to working with these great men in the upcoming season[that starts in November 2019]," Anis Sajan signed off.
