The head coach of the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore, Daniel Vettori, on Thursday said his team was pretty well equipped to handle Kings XI Punjab’s Chris Gayle’s explosive batting and ‘hopefully’ they can tackle KXIP opener, Lokesh Rahul, too.
“We probably won’t anticipate playing against Chris tomorrow. But if he does, if any team knows how good he is that is RCB and what he has done for the team for a number of years. We are fully aware of his strengths and how we can handle him,” Vettori said of Gayle who played for RCB earlier.
Gayle did not play KXIP’s last match against Delhi Daredevils.
Hopefully, the team can also tackle KL Rahul who is in fantastic form and knows the conditions here pretty well, Vettori said.
“KL is obviously in fantastic form in the first game and he knows these conditions. He missed all last year for us, it was sad not to see him perform (play at all) but he has gone away to KXIP and started exceptionally well. Hopefully, we can tackle him well,” he said.
On sixth bowling option, Vettori said the team looks at it more as an opportunity for five bowlers to do their job, rather than wait for someone to fail and another come into the scene.
“I didn’t say we didn’t bowl well, I said we didn’t bowl well to Narine. Everything else fitted, I was happy with our performance there. There are five bowlers there who are all proven apart from Kulwant who is new into the team and we backed him because of his performances leading into it and obviously his previous T20 performance,” he added.
On the spin duo Yuzuvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, he said both did not bowl well to Narine which was the only disappointment.
“Once again, it was the way we bowled to Narine we were disappointed with. Washington didn’t bowl as well to him and Chahal as well.”
Vettori said last season his team was not used to the wicket here and hence adaptability was the criteria for purchasing players at the auction.
“We need guys who could perform in all conditions, not a 200 or 220-run Chinnaswamy wicket. We have got a group of guys who are really adaptable. Obviously, after the game we will be able to judge and analyse it and see where we stand with the wicket,” he said.
-With PTI inputs.