Freshly-appointed Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Daniel Vettori on Wednesday said the idea of leading the side in the IPL excited him, his recent decision to resign the captaincy of New Zealand notwithstanding.
“Captaining RCB is quite different from captaining New Zealand,” he said. “In the New Zealand team, the players are grown up whereas here there are a lot of young players, with chances of different dynamics. It is an exciting opportunity for a short time. We have a good unit with us and we are looking forward to a strong campaign.”
The 32-year-old takes over from Anil Kumble, who is now Chief Mentor with the franchise. “Anil's presence is really important for me,” Vettori said. “He has led this team extremely well in the past. His knowledge of the conditions, the team, players and his overall expertise of the game is exceptional. So, from a personal point of view and team's point of view Anil's presence will be immensely beneficial.”
Besides Vettori, the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad contains three other players who turned out for Delhi Darevils in previous seasons.
This, he felt, would be beneficial. “(Tillekaratne) Dilshan, AB (de Villiers) and (Dirk) Nannes have been around with me for three years, and so it will be a bit comfortable for us as a group to come and be part of the new environment.”
