We have given Ishant Sharma an additional responsibility and he is enjoying it: Delhi head coach ahead of new season

Ishant Sharma is putting the hard yards in the nets and has wholeheartedly committed to the extra responsibility of mentoring the Delhi pacers in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy beginning on Tuesday, team's new head coach Abhay Sharma said on Monday. A stalwart of 105 Tests, the 34-year-old will be probably making one last attempt for an India comeback when the domestic season gets underway for the Delhi team with their T20 opener against Manipur in Jaipur on Tuesday. The build up to the new season has not been ideal for Delhi who appointed former India U-19 and India A coach Sharma as head coach only 10 days ago.

The squad for the premier T20 domestic event was announced on October 5 with IPL star Nitish Rana replacing Pradeep Sangwan as captain after a forgettable season in which seven time Ranji champions could not past the league stage of all three domestic tournaments. Head coach Sharma is aware of the challenges at hand and the 53-year-old told PTI that he and the players are up for it. "The preparation time was less but somehow we have created a very good environment.

I have had one on ones with all the players and they are looking forward to make an impact right from the word go. "We had a team bonding session yesterday and everyone participated including the senior players (Ishant, Nitish, Navdeep Saini). As professionals, they know their game and bodies better than anyone.

We have created an environment where we have put ownership on the shoulders of the experienced players." Talking about the mistakes made in the last season, the coach said: "It is early days. We will be tested but we are ready. This is my first season, I don't want to talk about the past, we can learn from that.