Apart from an early hiccup against the Kolkata Knight Riders in their first game of the IPL 2016, the Delhi Daredevils have turned things around remarkably. They have now won three matches in a row and sit on the top-half of the IPL points table with six points from four matches that they have played.
Delhi Daredevils' new recruit Sanju Samson has credited Rahul Dravid for this amazing turnaround. The former Indian captain has a big role to play as the mentor of this Delhi Daredevils side and the players are extremely happy to take his invaluable suggestions.
The underachievers of previous IPL seasons have comfortably defeated Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in their last three games and Samson is delighted to see that they are doing well under the legend.
"It's a very young and fresh team. We have lots of youngsters in the team so a mentor like Rahul sir motivates us to perform. It's good to see that we all are doing well under him," Press Trust of India quoted Samson as saying.
Samson also stated that he is growing as a cricketer and it is all because he is learning from Dravid.
"I have been playing IPL for the last three years and I think I am getting better as a cricketer every year. Mostly I take my learning and experience from Rahul sir. It's all about learning," Samson added.
"It's all about what your team needs from you. If they send me down the order I have to finish the games and if they send me up the order I will have to build the innings and set stage for my team."
The Delhi Daredevils will host the in-form Gujarat Lions, who are just above them in the IPL points table, at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi. Samson is wary of their strengths and is hopeful that the Daredevils will yield yet another positive result against the Suresh Raina-led Gujarat Lions.
"Every team is tough to play in this tournament. Gujarat has been doing well and we will have to respect them. But nothing changes in the preparation. Planning wise we do talk about our opponents and set clear plans," Samson said.
"They are doing well but we can't judge who is going to do well the next day. So we will have to respect everyone who is coming to bat. We have plans for everyone and I hope it goes well tomorrow."