There is more to T20 cricket than just slam-bang stuff

I will aim to sustain and continue what I did in the previous edition, writes Kieron Pollard

Things are getting better and thankfully there is nothing serious about the injury I suffered. That means there is no reason for me to not get excited about being in South Africa in the first week of September.

The tag of being a big hitter has stuck on me for some time now — and, to be honest, I don't mind it at all — and the credit for it goes to the Champions League. If anything, I am keen on going out there and doing it all over again this time around.

Twenty20 cricket is often considered all flash, a slam-bang version of the game, but there is more to it.

In the end, it is a team game of 11 players and you have to win, with bat and ball, and it takes some doing, and a lot of common sense in your game; whether it is 20 overs, 50 overs or five days

Not easy.

We will be up against some pretty good teams in the competition this time around — and with the likes of Dougie Bollinger and Dirk Nannes against you, it will not be an easy task even for someone like me!

There will also be Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whom I admire as one of the fiercest hitters of the ball in world cricket, and Ross Taylor, who has proved more than once that he is a match-winner. These are players I like to watch play, of course not when I am on the opposite side.

On my part, I will aim to sustain and continue what I started in the previous edition.

Things are different this time around. I was a ‘nobody' back then and could go out and play my game without any pressure.

At the same time, all the national teams and its administrations have been taking Twenty20 pretty seriously between then and now and putting out its own domestic T20 tournaments, so it will be a lot more competitive this time around. It's a competition I am looking forward to.

No pressure

At the same time, as a professional cricketer, you have to take success and failure in your stride. There will be days when the game is yours — as has happened often with me — and then there will be lean days when you can't do anything; there will be a lack of form or confidence. That is one of the reasons I do not feel any pressure ahead of a game.

 What I do feel concerned about is the fact that I will not get as much time to be with my Mumbai Indians teammates as I would love to — at the most 3-4 days.

Though having played together in the IPL means all of us have a fair idea of what each one is capable of and what our roles are, it would still have been better if we had more time together.