JOIN USThe Royal Challengers Bangalore are focussed on reinforcing their bowling line-up for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League, and the burly Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian could give them the required balance in thier quest for a title which has eluded them for five seasons.
Christian is, perhaps, one of the most experienced T20 exponents available but more than his ability with the bat, it will be on his medium pace the RCB will be banking more when the tournament kicks off on April 3.
The 29-year-old, who went through the drills at the RCB camp at the National Cricket Academy on Friday, was not particularly aware of his role in the team as yet but was sure of having a good time playing with the likes of Chris Gayle and Muttiah Muralitharan.
“I've admired watching the team go about their work in the past two years being at Deccan Chargers, so I was very pleased after the auction when I found out that I was coming to RCB,” said Christian after the training session.
“I'll figure that (role in the team) out in the next couple of days after I catch up with Ray Jennings and also Virat (Kohli) when he gets here. I'll talk about how they want me to fit in. More than likely, it'll be batting somewhere in the middle and offering some overs like I normally do for most of my other teams, so I'll wait and see,” he said.
“I suppose it's just that little bit more experience of playing in the 20-30 games I end up playing each year. You tend to learn more and more as you continue to play,” he added when asked about what he would bring to the table with his experience.
Playing for the South Australian Redbacks in the Big Bash, Christian, is, perhaps, the best judge of the difference in the two T20 leagues, and he was of the opinion that, the Big Bash comes nowhere close to IPL’s popularity.
“The popularity (of Big Bash) in Australia is massive, but obviously not like the IPL. Since you've got a lot more people in India than we do, so a lot of people come and watch these games and more on television. They're both fantastic competitions and it's a pleasure and an honour to play in both,” noted Christian, who also added that playing under Virat Kohli will be great for him and the team.
When asked if he was looking forward to playing alongside Gayle, Christian -- with a look of relief -- said: “Yeah, very much looking forward to playing with Chris. Having had to bowl to him a fair bit in the past, I'm looking forward to not having to do that.”
Meanwhile, RCB pace spearhead Zaheer Khan once again skipped bowling at the nets but allayed all fears of a recurring calf injury as he did his shuttle runs with no discomfort.
While the rest of the squad -- a jet-lagged Christian included, were busy at the nets and then with their fielding drills, the left-armer ran a while before retiring for the day.
The camp will receive a boost with off-spin legend Muralitharan is likely to take part in the net session on Saturday, while the remaining members of the squad will continue to arrive over the next couple of days.