IPL 2018: KXIP packed with quality players, says Brad Hodge

Brad HodgeKings XI Punjab head coach Brad Hodge feels that presence of multiple superstars makes their team a dangerous unit going into the 11th edition of Indian Premier League If you look at the difference of this side compared to the past squads I think there is definitely a rise in standard Weve got a lot of superstars a lot of matchwinners which makes our team extremely dangerous which should be good for future said Hodge prior to their opening encounter against Delhi DaredevilsWhile top order batsman Aaron Finch is not going to be available for tomorrows match Hodge said that while his absence is going to be a huge loss but the team has got the talent to cover his role He said the side boasts of some of extremely dangerous cricket players and all match winners on their own In addition to Ashwin KXIP has players like Yuvraj Singh Chris Gayle David Miller Karun Nair Axar Patel Lokesh Rahul Marcus Stoinis Manoj Tiwary Andrew Tye among othersAbout KL Rahul he said that the toporder batsman has taken up the challenge of delivering the dual role by keeping wickets which gives the team more options He has been working extremely hard and he is excited about this competition he said When asked that after ten years of IPL how does he see this season being different in terms of innovation which the bowlers or batsmen may try the Aussie said it is hard to pinpoint what it is but we are certainly seeing the game evolve dramatically from day one when Brendon McCullum hit 158 for KKROn being asked what can be considered as a safe total in the competition these days he said one might get to see over 200 runs being scored more regularlyBut then thats where the evolution of the bowler might come into play they might then get little more crafty and come up with few more tricksBut I think 200 may be achieved a lot more than in the past he saidAsked about the impact both he and team mentor Virender Sehwag have had on the team he said We certainly complement each otherif there is any question doubt or thought in any of the players mind then there is easy access to both of us We both have very similar thought process the way we should play the game the way we should attack the game and the partnership has been working To work with someone like Viru is simply outstandingDelhi Daredevils batting coach Praveen Amre spoke about franchises youth policy DD always wanted to invest in the future In the past we started with Rishabh Shreyas Iyer when they came from U19 we invested in them and now they are our key players right now We are very hopeful with current guys who won the India U19 World Cup Manjot Kalra Abhishek Sharma Avesh as many as seven players are around 23 years of ageWith Gautam Gambhir leading the side Amre saidWe have a good blend of experience and young talented players which makes it a fearless unit The focus was to invest in players who have been with us for a long time like Shahbaz Nadeem is there for eight years Jayant Yadav is there for three years In that sense Gautam coming back to Delhi I think that is going to help Naman Ojha also played for Delhi earlier and is coming back So all these players already know the culture of DD he saidCatch up on all the latest IPL news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever