Speaking about the inaugural match of IPL Season V, Chennai Super Kings Doug Bollinger said he was pleased to see some grass on the surface. The left-arm paceman is also confident about his own ability to make an impact yet again for CSK, says a report in The Hindu.
“There is some grass on the pitch. Hopefully, there will be some pace and bounce for the pacemen from the track,” Bollinger said, adding that he possessed the ability to adapt to any condition.
Indeed, Bollinger has been outstanding for CSK on the largely slow and spinner- friendly tracks here in the seasons gone by. “If the pitches are on the slower side, you try others things. You bowl a lot of slower deliveries, try and swing the ball and ensure that you send down practice deliveries in the block-hole during the end overs,” he said.
According to a report in The Times Of India, Bollinger is recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of Australia’s tour of the West Indies and he arrived in Chennai on Sunday only after Cricket Australia cleared him for the tournament. “Now I am feeling completely fit. I am only 30 now and if I do well here I am sure it will help me work my way back into the national side,” the pacemansaid, adding, “I love playing for CSK. I’m now attached to this team and always look forward to this phase of the year.”
Meanwhile according to a report in TOI, Mohammad Kaif says he wants to play a bigger role for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Over the years, there has been no fixed role for the Uttar Pradesh batsman but now he wants to give his best whenever he gets an opportunity, adds the report.
“I have played different roles when I was part of Team India. Whatever the team management required, I changed my roles accordingly. I have batted from No. 3 to No. 8. That’s the reason IPL teams got confused over how and where to utilize me best. Ideally, I would like anchor the innings much like Dravid, Kallis, Gambhir and Kohli. I feel I can do that job,” Kaif told TOI.