'We have to gel instantaneously'

Zaheers absence is a huge loss, says Vettori

With just a few days remaining for the Champions League T20, the New Zealander has the enviable task of leading Royal Challengers Bangalore in a tournament where one bad match can lead to early exit from the tournament. But Vettori looked at peace with himself, standing on the threshold of a high-pressure event and shared his thoughts on Sunday with the media.
Excerpts:

On the difference between IPL and CLT20: It’s probably even more pertinent that a lot of us haven’t played together for a long time. So, it’s difficult to get the group together and gel instantaneously. That’s something we’ll have to really look to do.

Because if you don’t win one of the first two games then your tournament is pretty much over. These three-four days are really important in terms of build-up and practice.

On the lack of match practice: It’s going to be a tough challenge for both of us (him and Chris Gayle). AB de Villiers is the same, so that’s why these few days’ of build-up is going to be important. We’ve got a practice game tomorrow, and we’ll make sure we’re ready.
On the fatigue factor concerning Virat Kohli and Tillak-aratne Dilshan: It can work both ways. I think those guys will have cricket fitness, and they’ll be ready to go – particularly Kohli. He got a hundred in his last game. I think if you’re playing well, the mental fatigue doesn’t really affect you, but if you aren’t, sometimes it can creep in to bother you.

On Zaheer’s absence: It’s a big loss for us. He took crucial wickets at very important times. He’s a guy that I looked to use when we needed a wicket and a majority of the time, he did it. His ability to mentor Arvind (in particular) and Mithun paid real dividends for us. Arvind was probably our best bowler in the tournament and a lot of that is down to Zak’s leadership. But we’re fortunate that we have some guys who back up and can give us some good options.

On the options in bowling:  We’ll probably look at five specialist bowlers – myself and Nannes hopefully can spearhead that. Arvind was amazing for us last year. Mithun and Syed will come into play as well. And we’ve got Gayle, who did a pretty good job with the ball for us. Hopefully, we’re going to find a way and make use of six or seven bowlers to do the job.

On how to accomodate Nannes:  He’s a pretty important player, particularly with Zaheer going down. If you look at Dirk’s T20 record, it’s outstanding. He’s been playing over in England, he’s got some form under his belt. He’s been devastating in the IPL and the Champions League in the past. We’re unlucky that we missed out on him with an injury in last year’s IPL. But only four foreigners can play, so we’re going to have to look at how we support Chris at the top of the order. We used Dilshan and AB a lot last year and they played very well. So, one of those is going to miss out, and it’s going to be a tough decision.