"Other teams should feel the pressure when playing us"- Rajat Bhatia

Rajat Bhatia and Gautam Gambhir

Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Rajat Bhatia feels that other teams are bound to feel the pressure when playing against the defending champions.

Bhatia said: “We are the champions. Instead of us, the other team should feel the pressure when they are playing against us. We are enjoying and we are trying to give our best. The pressure should be on the opposition. [If] we play to our potential the pressure will be on them.”

Bhatia, with his clever variations, was a key component in KKR’s bowling during their winning campaign last year. He still remains the obvious choice for the team management to control the flow of runs during the middle overs.

On the unpredictable nature of T20, he said, “Twenty20 is a funny game, one day you become a champion and the next day you could be back where you started. It is very unpredictable. One day you might get hit for runs and next day you might bowl a brilliant spell. It is not only about the performance, it is sometimes about how much support you are getting from the other end. Sometimes there is pressure on the batsmen when they are facing Sunil Narine and they try to go after me and they lose wickets so these are the things which matter most. When he is bowling from the other end I always feel that he can change the game around and then when the new batsman comes I can finish my spell. That’s what I did last year and I am trying to do.”

On being asked how crucial is an all-rounder’s role in T20, Bhatia said, “It depends of what is the requirement of the team. If KKR is looking at me as a bowler and I have to make sure that I perform as a bowler. In batting, the position I normally bat on I don’t get more than 6-7 balls or sometimes two-three overs. So that’s how I play and perform the role.”