HYDERABAD: Deccan Chargers’ skipper
Adam Gilchrist is very excited and keen to do well in IPL-3. The defending
champions begin their campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai on March
12. In an exclusive chat with ToI on Tuesday, Gilchrist affirmed his team’s
commitment to play an exciting brand of cricket.
Excerpts.

You’re probably the best
advertisement for a wicketkeeper-captain, leading the defending
champions…

Thank you. Wicketkeeping brings with it an
involvement throughout. You’re involved in every ball, perhaps more than anyone
else. So it helps you have a better understanding of the game and what’s going
on. I think that helps the team when it needs attention or direction.

It was tough going in IPL-I. How
difficult was it for you to face the situation after getting used to the
Australian way?

It just confirmed to me that losing, the
feeling of losing, is the same no matter who you play for. It’s not that we
never lost a game for Australia. We had lost and I had experienced it before. I
was very lucky to play in a successful era for Australia. But that (DC) was a
great challenge for me and everyone in Deccan Chargers.

Did you veer off track in trying to
adapt to local conditions than forging a separate DC
identity?

Without doubt. Every team would have been looking to
understand and appreciate each other’s cultures, especially when most teams had
nearly six different nationalities. We were the same. Perhaps we overdid it
early but since no success came we probably neglected it towards the end. What
we realised was that we needed to create our own environment and culture.

Given the clout T20 wields what do
you reckon are the major areas due to change because of the new
format?

In terms of cricket, the mindset of the players: that
anything is achievable. It’s really creating a new style of cricket. Brendon
McCullum showed last week and (Tillakaratne) Dilshan is doing it. I read with
interest McCullum saying the bowlers are getting better so we need to open up
new areas on the ground so that we get more scoring options. It’s fascinating to
watch that happen.