I will always support a team decision

It was certainly an eventful night on Thursday in Sharjah.

At the outset, let me say I am a team man. If the coach and captain agree a strategy, I am not going to second guess them. I will always support them. That’s the way successful teams function.

RCB chose to bat first against Kings XI Punjab, and I was expecting to go in at No.4 as usual. In fact, when the second wicket fell, with our score 62 for two in the sixth over, I started to make my way through the gate that leads out to the wicket.

At that precise moment, I was asked to wait because the coach and captain had decided to send out left-handers to face the two KXIP leg-spinners, who were bowling at the time.

That was a legitimate cricketing decision. Teams all around the world often prefer left-handed batsmen to face leg-spin bowling. I did not question the call at the time it was made, and I do not question the call now. There is absolutely no problem from my side.

With Chris Morris leading a late charge, we reached 171 for six in our 20 overs, maybe a few runs behind where we would have wanted to be on an increasingly slow Sharjah pitch. KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle all contributed to the run chase and, despite a late scare, KXIP secured the win they needed to keep their IPL hopes alive.

In my view, KXIP are a much better team than their current league position suggests, and, in this tournament, it really is the case that anybody can beat anybody on any given day. Any of the eight teams are capable of winning five or six matches in a row. This is what makes the IPL such an exciting contest; it is completely unpredictable.

From an RCB perspective, we need to move on from what turned out to be a disappointing evening, continue to work hard, focus on executing our core skills correctly and try to regain that precious winning momentum against RR in Dubai on Saturday.

For my part, I am eager and willing to bat wherever and whenever the team needs me, and to help RCB advance our campaign to realise our potential and win this league.