It's crucial time for Bangalore, says Gayle

Jamaican asserts there is no pressure to perform

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Chris Gayle backed his team’s bowling department, while adding that this was a ‘crucial time’ in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League for the Bangalore-based outfit.

The West Indian marauder, who has led the RCB batting for the second season in succession with a string of power-packed performances, discussed RCB’s campaign so far in a media interaction on Thursday. Excerpts:

Is the team worried about lack of consistency in bowling?

This is T20 cricket and bowlers will always be a target. We have done well in patches. We haven’t got it consistently right. Our key bowlers are two guys who play international cricket -- Vinay (Kumar) and Zaheer (Khan). In T20 cricket they know the conditions, but like batsmen, sometimes bowlers struggle a bit but we got to back them.

Given the fact that Muttiah Muralitharan has done very well in his short stint with RCB, do you think it would be an option for skipper Daniel Vettori to sit out a match so the Sri Lankan could come in?

That question is way bigger than me. You are talking about selection. I am a batsman and I play my part.

What is RCB’s focus at the moment?

The objective is to go all the way. I am disappointed that we didn’t win last night (against Kings XI Punjab). Like I said, we were batting first and it seamed around a bit. We needed a few more runs, may be another 20 runs. In cricket, we always say we were a few runs short. But they came in and batted well, you know Mandeep (Singh) did well. And captain (David) Hussey came in and finished the game but there was panic in the end, you know, a few wickets... We got a lift and Vinay Kumar did his best but they finished it. The situation is difficult now. We are still capable of going all the way, we have six more or five more games to go.

I mean, we can’t win all but we need to win more, it is a crucial time for us. We have got to be positive.

Is there a lot of pressure on you to perform consistently?

I don’t look at it as a pressure situation. You just got to do your job. Once you are there, you will have the opportunity to score but it won’t happen all the time. As an individual you want to be the match-winner and help the team cross the line.

This year, unlike last, you have started your innings slowly and then gradually accelerated. Is that changed approach a conscious decision?

It was not a conscious decision. I play according to the game situation. Most of the games, Mayank has got runs quickly and he has faced most of the balls so I take that opportunity to play myself in, but yes if the ball is in the slot, I will have a go at it. And yes, if you have a good partnership then you can go harder at the ball. That’s the approach but still I have the mentality of being the aggressor at the top of the order.

What aspects of your batting would you like to improve?

I want to keep improving, keep working on my starts. I just want to keep a good pace be it setting a target or chasing. I would like to stay in the crease a little bit longer. 15-16 overs is very good but it would be nice to stick around longer.

Are you in a position to bowl now?

For the first couple of games I was struggling but now I am fit, I am in a good condition to bowl.