Eric Simons confident about the rehabilitation of Virender Sehwag

India’s bowling coach and the assistant coach of Delhi Daredevils, Eric Simons, is very happy and satisfied with the progress of Virender Sehwag and feels that the right-handed top-order batsman is going to make a strong comeback in International cricket as well as the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The explosive opener has been struggling with his shoulder for quite some time now but he aggravated the injury during the previous season of IPL. The right-handed batsman is also the captain of the franchise.

Since then, Sehwag has missed out on International cricket. He was called to England to play the last Test of the series against England but he disappointed with a king pair and was later ruled out of the limited overs series.

Simons feels that Sehwag is one of the most important players for India and his presence does make a huge difference, both for India and for the Daredevils. He is hopeful that the experienced opener is going to regain his fitness sooner rather than later.

"Sehwag is obviously very important to Delhi Daredevils from certain aspects. Obviously, he's our captain and a real match winner for us. It is great to see him come through his operation the way he has so far. He's looking very strong and very fit," the coach stated.

India struggled big time in their recent tour of England and Sehwag was dearly missed. The opening batsman has also been ruled out of the initial part of the One Day International series against England, which is going to start on the 14^th of October, with the first match at Hyderabad Deccan.

Simons claims that Sehwag is making rapid progress and has started practicing once again.

"He had two very long nets during the course of this week. I have no idea. He's not going to rush. It's in everyone's interest that when he comes back he's ready. The medical people can answer that best. But at the moment he's being very, very closely monitored," he added.

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Coaching 2011 Champions is a big challenge for Duncan Fletcher

India’s bowling coach, Eric Simons, claimed that he is looking forward to join Duncan Fletcher in the upcoming tour of West Indies and believed that it will be a big challenge for Fletcher to coach the World Champions.
The 49-year old South African, whose contract was extended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday, expressed that he expected that Fletcher will bring innovation in the Indian team with some new ideas as he did with the England team during his coaching period with them.
The England team was in great form in 2004, by winning eight consecutive Test matches including the Ashes series of 2005 under Fletcher’s guidance.
Simons and Fletcher will both join the Indian team from the next month on the tour of West Indies.
While talking to the media, Simons said, "I have never worked with Duncan, so I am looking forward to working with him. I am sure he will bring in some fresh ideas to the team like he did during his English stint. But I think coaching the No.1 team in the world will be a real challenge for Fletcher".
Simons and his compatriot, the former Indian coach, Gary Kirsten, both played an important role in the Indian cricket team’s win in the 2011 World Cup after 28 years.
Simons also guided his players well in the recent tour of South Africa where the Indian team was successful to draw the Test series for the first time.
On the renewal of his contract, Simons said, “I had agreed in principle to continue as the bowling coach. Now that they have agreed to give me an extension, I have to sit down with them and discuss the nature of the contract and the tenure".
Simons also claimed that according to India’s structure in the world of cricket, his job is getting difficult.
"These are exciting and tough times for me. The last one year has been great for me and now the job has become tougher. The challenge will be to keep the team on top. The expectations are always high from World champions and living up to them will be a challenge for this Indian team", Simons explained.
Talking about the Indian bowling line up, Simons said that it is the Indian selector’s duty to decide which bowlers would be consistent in their performance. He explained that his job is to give confidence to the bowlers and further described that when one is confident one can run in and bowl quickly in good areas. He added that those bowlers who are performing well are consistent with their performance throughout the match or series.

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