'We’ve had flashes of brilliance'

On the reasons for the loss against Rajasthan Royals

I don’t think I am going to blame anyone here. I mean it is a team responsibility. We had a very good foundation, [Manvinder] Bisla batted beautifully. We lost what should have been a comfortable victory but when you lose wickets in this format of the game you will always be behind.

On Ravi Bopara’s form

Yeah he has been playing very good cricket for the last couple of months, Ravi has been in great form. I think that the way it goes. I don’t think Ravi has done anything wrong to deserve to be out of the side. Unfortunately certain batsmen haven’t done well out there, especially when we’ve made good starts and laid a foundation – we’ve got to go out there and do well. Probably if we had stopped a few runs out there on the field, held catches, thrown ourselves a bit more to stop boundaries [things would’ve been different]. The Rajasthan players, even though they missed a couple of catches, fielded very well and I think that is the kind of intensity you have to show out there.

On what motivates him to play in a competition like IPL

Well I think that one thing that I get encouraged by is a lot of character. I think it is a matter of personal pride when you are a professional cricketer when you score some runs. When cricketers play for their country, big opportunities come and there is a lot of pride. I think in the IPL when you play for your franchise you got to have the same pride, you have to go out there and do the hard work. You can’t just turn up for games, keep going and do well. There is a lot of preparation that goes into it, a lot of focus. I think we’ve got to raise our game and our intensity and [win] matches the way we did against Chennai while defending – [we showed] a lot of character .

On the plan for the upcoming games

Well I think you’ve got to have focus on … doing well and really try. I think the senior players, the senior internationals in the side are setting a good example and that is something we have to work on going forward. I think the younger players and the Indian players are pulling themselves very well but as a whole unit I think we’ve got to convert to team performance which we haven’t done so far. We have had flashes of brilliance, flashes of good work and then patches of really bad cricket that turn games.

On Mohammed Kaif

I think that [according] to the situation one faces, you’ve got to adapt. To stroke the ball, build partnerships and also be able to go for boundaries and even over it when the time calls for it. I think that Kaifi has played enough international cricket for India and been a great performer for India and we trust that he will do the job for us.

Well he hasn’t had a great time this tournament sometimes it happens to batsmen. But then again you know you’ve got to keep raising your game and as I said before, it is how much pride we take in being good cricketers. You know this is a great foundation for cricketers to show what they can do to the local fans and to the world. When you are not an international star, I think you can be a bit hungrier. But even if you are up there and have done everything that is to do in world cricket, you’ve still got to take pride in performing. I think that is something we’ve got to work on.

On whether the team needs to go back to the planning board

Yeah, a lot to think about, but again I think thinking and talking is good enough but again you got to convert the plan - execute the plans out there in the middle and just keep believing that you are good enough to win. Also you’ve got to have trust in each other as players - it is in the plans that we set. You’ve got to keep yourself disciplined and make sure you perform well enough and compete hard enough to make those games.

On whether Yuvraj Singh’s off field life has a bearing on his performance

I think that is a question you have to ask Yuvi. I don’t think so … I think whatever happens outside of cricket, when you walk out to the field ,you have to put all of this out of your mind and focus on what has to be done. I think the responsibility has to be shouldered by the seniors in the side but also shared by everyone and I think finally all the 11 on the field

On the Mongoose bat and whether he will employ it

No, really I am pretty happy with the bat I’ve got. The Mongoose bat is a matter of personal preference, I think - whoever wants to bat with it will bat with it. It will depend on the players to use the bat or no. A couple of players bat with it. I think finances also count when it comes to batting with a bat like that so players will bat with whatever bat they are comfortable with.