The skipper of Royal Challengers needs no introduction. During his illustrious career as a professional cricketer, his contribution to the game and for the passion of it is regarded a folklore amongst the crazy lovers of the game all over the world. Having retired as the third highest wicket taker in the world, and earned the respect of the world as one of the best statesman of the game, Anil Kumble however still remains humble as a pie and remain committed to the cause.

However, scratch the surface and one feels that Anil is hungry as ever. The fearsome competitor in him wants to lift the IPL 2010 trophy this time. As if he wants it with his dear life. He doesn’t hide his intentions either. During a long chat with the RC Editor Sajal Banerjee , Kumble returns to his eagerness to lift the title time and again.

Read on. It’s exclusive here on RC online.

Team Royal Challengers in great shapes this IPL:

I think we have a very good balanced side. In club crickets, the biggest advantage is to play as a unit. We realised in the Champions League T20, that we never felt that have broken away as a unit after IPL 2009. That’s the best thing about this team. We can regroup very quickly before any tournament. The quality and the mood of the players are such that we regroup very quickly. That’s the big advantage that we have and I am hoping that we start off well this IPL.

Key learning from past IPL and CL T20:

It’s going to be different this IPL. The Indian wickets are going to be flat, the grounds will be smaller, and scores will be higher. So we have to be prepared to chase higher scores. That’s one probable change we would see in this IPL. I think this team has the confidence to do that now. In the IPL 2008, we were not sure about what a good score is, which we realised in the IPL 2009. The conditions in SA also suited our game, so that was the advantage we had. Having said that I feel, post Champions League T20, we realised that sometimes we have to chase 180, which we can do, or sometimes opposition can chase down 180 as well. So in that way we have the quality to compete.

200+ will be a normal par score during this IPL:

Possibly yes. Five years ago people would have laughed at 200+ scores in a 20 over format, but that’s how it is today. People have chased down 200 in T20s today and that’s the norm.

Team’s strategy:

We need to be aware about the conditions of the wicket, about the opponent and go one game at a time and try to win that particular match. That’s exactly what we did in IPL 2009. And that will be our game plan.

All the players are in great form and shape:

Everybody seems to be in really good form, other than the skipper, who hasn’t played any cricket since CL. (chuckles). I haven’t used up all the luck during the last 6 months, so hopefully it will rub on me when I play. Everybody in the team is in great form whether they are playing in the respective international teams or in domestic leagues. Even Sreevats is in great form. Hopefully this form continues in the IPL for us. What we did not achieve in the last IPL we should be able to do that this year.

Choosing the combination:

I think it’s always nice when you have 15 or 20 players to choose from, when you have to take some tough decisions to leave out a few players, especially foreign players, because only four can play. We have to take a call depending on the current form of the players, the conditions, the opponents. Initially all the 10 foreign players won’t be available. We will take a call as and when they are available.

Kp is hungry to do well this IPL:

We will have to see who’s available, what kind of combination we will go with. It’s good that we have one tear away fast bowler with us in Dale Steyn, we have Dillon Du Preez who did well in the past for us and who can really bowl well with the new ball and in the death. Then we have Roelof who can bowl and score some quick runs and is also a great team man. We have these three bowlers and the rest of them are all batting allrounders. Steve Smith can also bowl. With regards to Kp (Kevin Pietersen), I think he is a too good a player to miss out and I think he will be too hungry to do well this IPL and I am looking forward to that.

This year it should be a great motivation to win the IPL:

Oh yes! After what had happened in IPL 2008 and also at the start of IPL 2009, nobody gave us any chance halfway through the IPL season last year, but we achieved whatever we could last year, didn’t we? So in that sense there is a lot of expectation from us. And I am sure if we play to our potential, and not worry about external factors, we will certainly do well this IPL and go all the way.

Love being in the wild:

Personally I am spending a lot of time at home, and since I am involved as the vice-chairman in the State Wildlife Board, I made a few trips to the forests. I always love being in the wild. Tried to take some snaps and I am coming out with a book on that. And I have been training for the last month and a half for the IPL and hopefully I should also do well this time.

Message to the RC Fans:

It’s really nice to have huge numbers of loyal fans. Although the IPL 2008 did not quite turn out how we would have liked it to be, was a disaster for us, the last inconsequential game in that IPL season against Mumbai Indians there was a full house. It shows that the fans believe that this team RC can achieve. Next year we did achieve that in the IPL, although it would have great if we got those six or seven runs in the end. Our performance in IPL 2009 brought a whole lot of fans following the team. I have seen that in South Africa, I have experienced that in Champions League and I am following the support and the passion these fans have for RCB through our websites also. I am certain that we are not going to disappoint them this time.