I am here to learn: Sandhu

Ahead of his first stint in the Indian Premier League, Gurinder Sandhu has seemingly covered enough ground in preparation.

In a country where he has not played a lot of cricket, the Delhi Daredevils paceman knows the debut season can go very wrong.

But the Australian has tried his best to ensure that a string of negative performances does not come to pass. Being born in an Indian family that had moved from Punjab to Sydney in the 1980s brings hardly any advantage.

Importantly, Sandhu’s limited experience in international cricket bodes well for him. The nearly 6’ 6” tall fast bowler has the ability to swing the ball both ways.

After an ordinary debut versus India in the tri-series earlier this year, Sandhu was the pick of the Australian bowlers against England in the following match. While he’s not too sure of the IPL experience yet, the 21-year-old’s capability to learn quickly should stand him in good stead.

“I’m just here to learn whatever I can from the other players and coaches — batting, fielding, everything,” Sandhu told the media here.

Although his Big Bash League side Sydney Thunder had a poor last season, the young pacer was among its few bright spots. Sandhu finished the campaign as Thunder’s top wicket-taker with eight scalps in six matches at an economy rate of 6.95.

The impressive numbers enthused IPL franchises, most notably Rajasthan Royals, but it was the Daredevils who won the right to induct him.

“I talked to a few guys. I’m lucky enough to be playing with Moises Henriques, Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc. Lucky enough to call them mates. So, I’ve been talking to them a little bit. Also our bowling coach back home in Sydney is Geoff Lawson who used to be Kochi Tuskers coach.”