Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 1 : Ahead of the first game at home during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Director of Cricket Mo Bobat said that the amount of travel the team got to do for next three weeks is challenging, and expressed his team's excitement to play at home after two statement-making victories away from home.
RCB will be playing their first home game at M Chinnaswammy Stadium on Wednesday. After an emphatic win over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and 17-year streak-breaking win at Chepauk against five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), RCB looks like a well-oiled unit after having delivered standout batting and bowling performances alike and not exactly relying on just one or two big names.
Speaking ahead of the match in the pre-match presser, Bobat said that it has been weird to have not played a game here yet and it is "brilliant" to be back at Bengaluru.
"It's brilliant to be back here at Bengaluru. It feels a little bit weird having played two games and having not played a game here yet so we are really excited to be here and play in front of our fans. The home advantage will be the atmosphere that the fans create, which I'm sure will be intimidating for the opposition, particularly when it's a bit noisy," he said.
Speaking about starting off well with two away wins, Bobat said that after two statement-delivering performances, the team is motivated to perform well in front of home fans.
"We planned to make a statement in the first couple of games because going to two big teams with good and proud home records is a good challenge. So, we use that as something to motivate the group. Similarly, we want to come back here and motivate the group to put on a show in front of their own fans," he said.
With the team set to travel to Mumbai, Jaipur, Punjab and Delhi in the coming days in between their home fixtures, Bobat admitted that it would be challenging to travel so much and keep players fresh and invested in the way the team wants to play.
"You just deal with what's in front of you. So, I don't think the schedule is a big issue. I think a bigger challenge for us scheduling-wise is probably the amount of travel that we have got. We have actually got quite a laid-back and quiet start and quite a nice, relaxed end, but the middle is very congested. I think from after this game onward, we play something like seven games in 22 days with seven travel days. That is a very hectic schedule. So, I am more interested in how we keep the boys fresh through that period and keep playing the way we want to play," he said.
Speaking about playing at Bengaluru, Bobat said that the team has a "powerful batting and skillful bowling" line-up prepared to take on challenge of playing at a high-scoring venue like Bengaluru, which has short boundaries.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Romario Shepherd, Lungi Ngidi, Nuwan Thushara, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara
Gujarat Titans Squad: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Shahrukh Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Arshad Khan, Jayant Yadav, Nishant Sindhu, Kulwant Khejroliya, Gerald Coetzee, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra, Gurnoor Brar, Karim Janat.