For someone who has tormented the best of batsmen, left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson is wary of bowling to his Australia teammate Glen Maxwell.
“I just don’t want to bowl at him now in a match. I would prefer to do that in the nets. He is in such terrific form, batting with great confidence and hitting the ball all over the ground,” says Johnson on the eve of KXIP’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“There is lot of pressure on every bowler and it is very difficult to bowl to him. No bowler seems to relish this prospect now. Even I would like only to watch him from the sidelines.”
“I remember bowling to him at the MCG a couple of years ago in an inter-State match, and he hit me for a couple of sixes, and then I hit him on the body. He did score some runs then and showed he had great potential,” recalls Johnson.
On playing for KXIP this year, Johnson says it has been a fantastic experience so far.
“It is great to work with the Indian coach Sanjay Bangar. He is very calm and always straight to the point,” says Johnson.
On whether this IPL edition will be the best chance for KXIP to win the championship, Johnson says: “We are not looking that far right now. We wish to take it match by match. We are glad that we were off to an amazing start in this edition winning all the games in the UAE (where the first-leg was held) and are doing well in India now.”
“There is a lot of positive energy in the team and we just want to stay focussed and keep winning. Yes, we lost a couple of games in India but nothing to worry about.”
“I am enjoying every match and looking for another winning performance from the team when we take on SRH tomorrow,” he says.
“It should be a great game with exciting prospects.”
