Gilchrist hints at change of role in next season's IPL

Kings XI Punjab skipper Adam Gilchrist hints at change of role in next season's Indian Premier League

Kings XI Punjab skipper Adam Gilchrist gave the impression that he might opt for a change in role come IPL-V. A day after his former Australian teammate Shane Warne played his last IPL game for Rajasthan Royals, the 39-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman indicated he too might follow in his 41-year-old compatriot's footsteps and become mentor or coach of the team in the forthcoming editions.


Kings XI Punjab skipper Adam Gilchrist (left) walks off after his
dismissal against Deccan Chargers during an IPL match in
Dharamsala on Saturday. Pic/AFP

"I have not really thought about that (change in role) and nowhere have I said that I'm retiring from the IPL or anything like that. I will first let the dust settle and then think about what I need to do," Gilchirst said in Saturday's post match conference after his team went down to Deccan Chargers by 82 runs.

"There are still 12 months to the next IPL and when the time comes I will sit together with the franchise and do a review of things and make a decision" added Gilchrist, who accepted full responsibility of getting his toss call wrong earlier in the day. "I definitely got it (toss) wrong but I was caught up with things like run rate and the rain clouds and so thought batting second would be the right thing to do," he said.

Poor fielding
There was no discounting the team's poor fielding though. "The fielding was dismal and I'm obviously disappointed about the missed catches. A target of about 160 might have been more realistic but we just didn't turn up today," he said.
Meanwhile, Deccan Chargers skipper Cameron White said the team's third win on the trot gave them something to look forward to in next IPL. "Shikhar (Dhawan) was always threatening to score a big one through the tournament and finally got it here. Also, Amit (Mishra) did very well to get his hat-trick especially considering he got a left-hander in there (Ryan McLaren). Figures of 4-9 in Twenty20s is excellent," he said.



Preity good!
Actor and Kings XI Punjab team owner Preity Zinta showed she's no mug with the cricket bat on Saturday when she hit a couple of good shots during an exhibition match between the team management of Kings XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers at the HPCA Stadium here. HPCA president Anurag Thakur also swapped his formal attire for cricket wear and turned up for Kings XI Punjab.