By Zaahier Adams
Bankrolled by India's leading businessmen and biggest Bollywood stars, the Indian Premier League was launched amidst much fanfare last month, with the world's best playing alongside each other in cricket's current most popular format of the game, Twenty20.
With the maiden tournament just past the halfway stage, Herschelle Gibbs, the Deccan Chargers' South African opening batsman, spoke to the Cape Times from Hyderabad on Thursday about the standard of the IPL, playing with his new Aussie team-mates and those black boots ...
What has the IPL experience been like for you thus far?
I'm really enjoying it. It's been really good thus far. The entire tournament has been very well organised. All the guys are getting along really well. We took a while to get into our stride, but the last result has been very encouraging. We are getting closer to the business end of the tournament, so hopefully we can get the results required to put us in contention for the semifinals.
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Have you enjoyed being in the same team as players who were previously international opponents?
Well, management has told me that the spirits in the dressingroom has really lifted since I joined the team. The guys are really enjoying playing with each other and I think the spirit among our players is a lot better than perhaps some of the other teams. So if I'm playing a role in lifting the mood in the camp, at least I'm doing something right.
But besides the internationals, there are also some young Indian players in your team. How do they respond to playing with a senior professional like Herschelle Gibbs?
The main thing for the senior players in the team, like myself, is to relax the youngsters as the IPL is the biggest stage they've played on in their fledgling careers.
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