“It is exciting to play the Champions League in South Africa,” said the right-hander here on Monday at a function organised to announce the winners of RCB’s Fanatic Fans Challenge -III.
RCB’s stirring run in South Africa in 2009 after suffering four consecutive losses wasn’t lost on the former Indian captain. “We were among the better sides in the South African conditions as we showed during the second edition of the IPL,” he pointed out. Dravid was one of the better performers for RCB in the Protean conditions, where the low team totals were the norms, notching up 271 runs, the third highest for the Bangalore side.
Though Dravid indicated that teams other than IPL held a slight advantage in terms playing of together for a longer period, he hoped the experience of having played as a unit for the last three years should hold them in good stead. “As Indian teams it does get difficult as we assemble just ahead of the tournament but then we have played three IPLs together and our team has settled well,” he remarked.
The preparation, too, was going to be crucial this time, according to Dravid. “This time we have more time to prepare and get used to the conditions. We are better prepared for the tournament. Yes, it is the Champions League and it is a tough tournament but we have a good team. The Indian teams will have to adjust quicker,” he observed.
Besides Dravid, RCB’s hard-hitting batsman Robin Uthappa and Siddarth Mallya, Director Royal Challengers Sports Ltd, were the other judges who adjudged the three winners -- Chief Blogger, Chief Photographer and Chief Podcaster -- from 21 short-listed fans. The trio who will travel with the team and capture all the cricket action from South Africa, both on and off-field.
“It’s one of the toughest decisions I’d to make. It’s not just about the quality, but the passion they brought about,” said Dravid, who was adjudicated the chief blogger. Uthappa selected the photographer while Mallya chose the podcaster.
0 comments:
Post a Comment