IPL 9: Shane Watson ready to fire for RCB

Having played eight seasons with the Rajasthan Royals since the inception of the IPL, Australia’s Shane Watson is excited to share the dressing room with Royal Challengers Bangalore stars Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and A.B. de Villiers.

Bought for a whopping Rs 9.5 crores during the auction, the all-rounder Watson will begin a new innings against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday.

“It’s a little bit strange to be honest. My previous eight years have been with Rajasthan Royals. I have had a lot of fun at that franchise. To be able to come to a franchise of the quality of RCB is a huge privilege,” said the burly 34-year-old.

Watson bid adieu to international cricket during the recently concluded World T20 and now aims to contribute to the Kohli-led side.

“My plan is to contribute for RCB really well this year. My plan is to contribute with both bat and ball. If we all fire and come together there’s no reason why we cannot have a successful season,” he mentioned.

Owing to hard-hitting prowess during his stint with the Royals and Australia, Watson is up for the challenge ahead. “I’ve batted all different places for Rajasthan as well. I opened for a period of time, also batted 3 and 4 as well. In the end, I’m very thrilled to be here and happy to fit in wherever required. With Chris, Virat and AB as well, I am just happy to fit in wherever and provide my skills to the team,” he explained.

With spearhead Mitchell Starc and Samuel Badree ruled out, Watson believes the squad have enough fire power in the bowling department. “There’s no doubt those guys are hard to replace. But we’ve got a well-balanced team; we have good options both Indian and overseas. With the firepower we have got, especially with the bat, opposition teams are going to have to score a lot of runs against us to be able to give themselves a chance,” claimed Watson.

Sporting a smile, Watson is currently enjoying the shortest form especially playing T20 leagues across the globe.

“The exciting thing about playing the T20 leagues is that I have done, especially in the last 3-4 months with the Big Bash, PSL and IPL as well, I get the privilege to be able to play with players I have only ever played against in international cricket. To be able to meet new people, get to know them personally,” he said.