Delighted De Villiers praises team spirit

Protean confident of RCB going all the way this time

The South African superstar was talking to newsmen after a strenuous work-out attended by the entire RCB squad minus Zaheer Khan, and specifically focussed on the team spirit that he said was on par with any international outfit.

“I am very happy to be here with RCB in IPL IV,” the right-handed classicist gushed. “I couldn’t have picked a better side – the staff, the management, my team-mates are all lovely blokes. We’re really looking forward to playing together and to get out on the park and do well. The team spirit is very good. I can compare it to the South African international team. I’ve played a lot of cricket and I know that the teams that do well are always the teams that have a good team spirit.”

De Villiers said his burning desire was to justify the faith of the owners and the fans. “I’d like to do well, I’d like to win games for RCB – that’s what I was picked for,” he said, simply. “I’d love to make the owners proud, the team-mates proud. I’d like to get to know a few guys a bit better.”

RCB have a strong South African connection apart from coach Ray Jennings, with Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn being huge hits on the field. “Well, they haven’t won a trophy, so hopefully we can change something in that line and then they’ll like me more,” he said of the fans who took a special liking to both Kallis and Steyn.

“We had a nice team meeting today with Anil (Kumble, the chief mentor). He’s obviously a great guy -- a highly respected cricket player right across the world. I’ve got lots of respect for him. He’s going to make a lot of decisions and work really closely with the boys. It’s great to have him around as a mentor, just for that little extra bit of confidence in the field.”

Having struggleed with back and quadricep problems, De Villiers is ready for the grind ahead, be it as ’keeper or fielder.

 “Whatever’s best for the team, that’s what I’d love to do,” he remarked, in all earnestness. “The ironic thing is I get injured more often in the field than with the keeping. My back takes more strain when fielding, which is something most people probably don’t know. Most people think I shouldn’t keep because of my back, but it’s actually the other way round.”