Delhi Daredevils have finally kicked off their IPL5 campaign with a bang and a brand new conviction. The Daredevils believe in their motto ‘Dare to Dream’ and to put a stamp on this motto this season they have decided to build their campaign on four pillars. Those four pillars being Daring, Attitude, Resolute and Energetic and they have got these four attributes in the form of Anuradha Vaidyanathan, Arjun Vajpai, Arun Bhardwaj and Reena Kaushal. These four humans with super human abilities are the ‘Superfans’ who share the same aim and motive that the Daredevil franchise thrives upon.
These four remarkable flag bearers of daredevilry were revealed to the media in a press conference organized by the franchise on 27th February 2012 and many of the dignitaries from the GMR Sports were also present at the gathering. GMR Sports Head (Marketing) Hemant Dua described the Superfans as “Common people with achievements beyond limit” and according to Mr. Kiran K Grandhi, Chairman GMR Sports “Superfans display what Delhi Daredevils means for us”.
GMR Sports Cricket Head and Delhi Daredevils mentor TA Sekhar talked about the team for IPL5. Sekhar talked about some new combinations which they have thought about one of the new combination that he discussed was about the instatement of new coach Eric Simmons. The Daredevils were looking for a hard hitter in the middle order and that was a reason for Kevin Pietersen being traded into the side.
Sekhar called Kochi Tuskers banishment from IPL5 as a blessing in disguise for them as they had been looking to sign the new Vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene for a very long time as a player of his calibre brings stability and technicality to the side. Delhi Daredevils mentor looked very excited when he talked about the inclusion of two young promising allrounders West Indian Andre Russell and New Zealand’s Doug Bracewell. The GMR Sports Cricket Head was also happy to announce the signing of three uncapped Indian players Pawan Negi, Manpreet Juneja and Kuldeep Rawat. When asked about Dinda’s transfer to Pune Warriors Sekhar wished him luck and also confirmed there is nothing to worry as Varun Aaron will be fit for IPL5. There were lot of questions asked regarding Captain’s bad run of form and TA Sekhar looked positive when he replied “He is saving it for the IPL”.
So let’s look at the Superfans that Delhi Daredevil’s would look upto for their revival in this edition of the Indian Premier League:
Arjun Vajpai the pillar of Daring: 
Since his amazing feat in 2010 when he became the youngest Indian to climb the Mount Everest Arjun Vajpai has become a household name. He is a symbol of motivation and inspiration for thousands of kids in our country irony being he himself is still a teenager. For a 18 year old Arjun brings positive vibes around him, when he was asked about being linked to a franchise which finished bottom of the table all he had to say was “That is the good part as there is no way but to go up. In mountaineering there are times when you are at a dead end but what I do is dare to take another step.” Arjun also talked about living on the edge and adrenalin pumped life is what defines Daredevils.
Anuradha Vaidyanathan the pillar of Attitude: 
In daily life Anuradha would seem like just another lady happy and enjoying her life. But it’s Anu who knows all about blood, sweat and tears, as India’s first female Ironman triathlete. In day to day life she is a lady with many faces with few of them being of an engineer, a PhD holder, a writer, a charity campaigner, a triathlete and also a stereotype breaker. Yes a stereotype breaker her attitude towards life makes her the wrong lady to mess with as she loves beating stereotypes and her ambitions just have no limits. When asked about how does she relate to Delhi Daredevils all she said was “There is one factor which is common in all athletes and that is mental fortitude which takes an athlete a long way.”
Arun Bhardwaj the pillar of Resolute: 
Arun is a man who would go an extra mile to achieve what he wants and yes he does that literally. Arun is an Ultramarathon runner from India for those who don’t know whats this sport about basically it’s a sport where you run continuously for days and days covering hundreds and hundreds of kilometre. He has won the prestigious 567 km George Archer 6 day’s race and in 2011 was invited to Badwater Ultramarathon which National Geographic declared as the toughest organised race. And yes he completed the race in 41 hours 6 minute 1 second in 2011 which being his first attempt. When asked how Daredevil defines him he replied “It’s about coming out of normal life and doing something out of the world.”
Reena Kaushal the pillar of Energy: 
In the movie Pirates of the Caribbean Captain Jack Sparrow travels to the end of the world but that was in a movie in real life we have a West Delhi housewife Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu skied over 915 km in 38 days to reach the end of the world and by doing so the first Indian women to ski her way to South Pole. Being from an Army background as a kid she was taken on many of trekking expeditions by her father which has helped her learn the tricks and trades of mountaineering and when someone has Darjeeling as home town that is enough to prove her love for mountains. But her domain of interest doesn’t end at Mountaineering as she is regularly involved with awareness campaigns spreading the importance of preserving the environment. Reena surely comes up as a lady full of energy that embodies daredevilry.
With these pillars of success and new players Delhi Daredevil surely looks like a team on mission and a team looking as a serious challenger in IPL5. And as GMR Sports Operation head said “New direction, entity, vitality will do us a lot of good.”
