Leading a top IPL franchise like Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League will be a 8216;stepping stone8217; for the talented Virat Kohli to get ready for a bigger role with the Indian team,feels coach Ray Jennings.
8220;Kohli needs to make sure he gets his captaincy right. Dhoni is not going to be around for a long time. He needs to be ready for India and captaining RCB is a stepping stone for Kohli to take over from Dhoni,8221; Jenings said after a training session today.
8220;Kohli has the ability to lead the Indian team and also is very fiery which is a good thing for RCB.8221;
Asked whether he supoported Micky Arthur dropping four Australia players for not completing a feedback review,Jennings said every coach has different ways of doing things.
8220;You need to understand what players did and what relationship they had in the buildup to that controversy. If you ask players 10 times to do something and they don8217;t do it,you have a reaction. When you ask for the first time,you have a different reaction,8221; he said.
Jennings said the team is lot stronger than last year,but T20 is a strange game,anything can happen in 120 balls.
8220;If guys click,we make huge scores,but if they get out first ball,we lose,8221; he said.
The coach also said after having performed wonderfully against all top Test squads,Cheteshwar Pujara8217;s challenge is to play the same level of cricket in T20.
8220;We all know he is a good player,8221; he said.
ennings said Pujara would be out of action for two to three weeks,but the support staff would be monitoring his fitness.
Jennings said as a unit,the team is playing well from the batting point of view as Virat Kohli,AB de Villiers are top batsmen in the world ratings.
8220;Moreover,Tillekratne Dilshan is coming into the IPL with a ton behind him and Chris Gayle is coming with runs behind,8221; he added.
Jennings said the good thing about reinforcement of bowling department has given the team four or five options which allows competition.
8220;We have also got spinning option with Murali Karthik coming in. Hopefully,the players perform on the day and make us successfull,8221; he said.
Talking about Zaheer Khan and Ravi Rampaul8217;s fitness as they are coming into the IPL after recovering from injuries,Jennings said they are professionals and have to show results on the field to make some impact.
8220;Zaheer will be hundred percent fit as he knows his body well,8221; he added.
Jennings said his biggest challenge is to make sure that the team functions as a happy unit as they will be in for tough times in away games.
8220;Happiness brings energy and enegy brings committment,8221; he said.
Reacting to be called as a tough coach,Jennings said he cannot afford to have an unhappy unit.
8220;Toughness you have to instil as a coach when you start. Next,the softness comes after players begin to understand the rules and values of the team,8221; he said.