Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) can be excused for viewing Chris Jordan as the answer to all of its bowling woes. The franchise has found it hard to stem the flow of runs from opposition batsmen, and expects the English paceman to provide some much-needed teeth to the attack.
Jordan, renowned for his exceptional death-over spells, joined the squad recently as a replacement for the injured Mitchell Starc. At a press conference on the eve of RCB’s fixture against Rising Pune Supergiants here, the 27-year-old sought to play down the massive expectations heaped on him.
“I don’t really pay attention to the expectations. What people think from the outside is not really my concern. I’m more focused on how my teammates and the coaches view me. I’m just going to go out there give it my best,” Jordan said on Friday.
The Barbados-born England international is the most recent beneficiary of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s policy of encouraging its players to compete in tournaments like the IPL.
Jordan is thankful for the opportunity. “I’ve had discussions with the top guys at the ECB, and now I have this opportunity to develop my game and compete in high-pressure situations. The ECB is now okay with us playing here, and I don’t see this as anything but beneficial to English cricket.”
Having won just two of the seven matches played so far, RCB has much to do if it is to progress beyond the league stage. “Every game is a must-win game from now on. We can be tempted to look too far ahead, but first we have to deal with the game tomorrow [Saturday]. Pune won on Thursday night, so they will be growing in confidence. Hopefully, we can stop them.”
