IPL 7 Auction: Full Coverage | Who got whom | Team Compositions
The team, which finished dead last in the last edition, had the full purse of Rs 60 crore at their disposal and went away with 23 players, including big buys like Kevin Pietersen, Dinesh Karthik and Ross Taylor.
"This was my first time at the IPL auction and it was very exciting time, I must say. The last two days pretty much went according to plan for us. The aim was to get a balanced side with the core of the side intact and I think we managed to do that," Kirsten told TOI from Bangalore on Thursday.
At least seven out of the 23 have represent the Daredevils over the course of the last seven years, which means they will not be alien to the culture within the GMR group-owned franchises. Out of these players, Pietersen and Karthik were the biggest catches for the side.
Kirsten refused to confirm who would lead the side. "Every side needs match-winners to succeed in this tournament and we have managed to buy quite a few of them. Pietersen and Karthik will probably be the front-runners to lead this side but I have to sit down with the team management and owners before we take a final call on this," the 2011 World Cup-winning coach said.
The Daredevils, though, look a little light on the spin-bowling front, with only two specialist spinners in Rahul Sharma and Shahbaz Nadeem. The team has 10 pace bowling options to choose from the likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mohammad Shami, Wayne Parnell, Jimmy Neesham and Jaydev Unadkat.
"In an auction like this, you can never fulfill what you set out to do. It is now our job to get the best out of players. However, in saying that, there is a chance that the tournament might be shifted to South Africa and the pacers will definitely be handy in those conditions," the South African said.
Karthik was one of the biggest buys in these auctions at Rs 12.5 crore but Kirsten justified the price tag, saying, "Karthik is a very useful cricketer as he can bat in so many positions and can also double up as a wicketkeeper. We wanted to concentrate on domestic talent and managed to get eight capped Indian players - one of the highest among the franchises," he said.
Asked how the Daredevils are looking on paper compared to other teams, Kirsten said, "All the teams are looking quite well-matched, at least on paper."
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