Sharjah: Mitchell Johnson, currently one of the two most feared fast bowlers in the world along with Dale Steyn, feels that adaptability will be key for him in the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Australian will headline a young pace department for Kings XI Punjab, who start their campaign against Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Speaking to Gulf News ahead of a net session on Tuesday, Johnson said he was ready to vary his approach according to the situation of the game.
“Yes, I will not be trying to blast every batsman off the pitch in my four overs. If there is a bit of swing, I will try to bowl the Test match length and move it away from the batsman, while my role will be different in the death overs,” said Australia’s biggest match-winner of the last six months.
The Kings XI had a scare when, barely a month after acquiring ‘Mitch’ from Mumbai Indians at a price tag of $1.1 million (Dh4.04 million), news filtered in that a toe infection had ruled him out of the Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
Cricket Australia gave the green light on his fitness only in the first week of April and Johnson is now looking forward to vindicating his new team’s faith in him.
“I have played in a one-day tournament in the UAE before [against Pakistan], when matches finished late into the night. From what I recall, the wickets were pretty good to bat on and I am mentally prepared for similar conditions this time around,” Johnson said.
The George Bailey-led team has a tough opener ahead of them against the two-time winners Chennai Super Kings. Led by Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the team boasts of a strong batting line-up that runs deep and boasts of the likes of Faf du Plessis, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo and the skipper himself.
Asked how challenging that game will be, Johnson said: “Any team can be daunting in this format of the game — more so with the Super Kings, who have always performed well in the IPL. They have some real world class players and my job will be to think positively and relish the challenge.”
These being the early days of the league, Johnson admitted he was still coming to terms with the team combination.
“It’s a good, young team and I was quite impressed with Rishi Dhawan. We should be able to have a good tournament,” he said.
