Shipperd wants more overseas players

Greg Shipperd, the Delhi Daredevils coach, has joined the chorus asking for an increase in the number of overseas players in an IPL side's playing XI. John Buchanan, who oversaw Kolkata Knight Riders' dismal campaign, had earlier made a similar demand. Currently, teams can have a maximum of four foreign players in the XI and not more than ten of them in the squad.

With Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir misfiring for much of the tournament, Delhi have relied on AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan to shore up the batting. Left-arm-spinner Daniel Vettori and Victoria fast bowler Dirk Nannes have been their other regular foreign players. "With the four overseas players rule and us needing to beef up our batting with overseas players there is really often one bowling spot," Shipperd told the IPL's official website. "It is difficult and embarrassing for me to go to Glenn McGrath and say 'Sorry mate we haven't picked you in the team'."

Delhi have cruised into the semi-finals, finishing on top of the league table, but have not been able to accommodate former Australian great Glenn McGrath and two of their big acquisitions this year, England Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood and his compatriot Owais Shah, for even one game. Sri Lankan allrounder Farveez Maharoof, a key player from last season's campaign, only got a look-in towards the latter stages of this tournament.

"There are a lot of fabulous players sitting on benches, not playing the game," Shipperd said. "So I still encourage IPL to think their way through opportunities, if you like to broaden the exposure to those international players, without diluting to any significant degree to the absolute aim of promoting and developing the Indian cricketers."

Shipperd suggested that team be allowed to play an extra overseas player in some games and not across the entire season. "There can be an identified block of games across the tournament where instead of four overseas players, you throw in a fifth as well," he said. "Whether it is Vettori or McGrath or a player that the competition wants to see and the player wants to play."

However, Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said the rule on foreign players will stay intact for the time being. "We have had quite few requests [to include more overseas players] from the franchises on that," he said. "For the moment we will have only four overseas players in a playing XI."