George Bailey seeks improvement from Kings XI Punjab

George Bailey

Kings XI Punjab, led by George Bailey, produced their best ever performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year.

Although the Preity Zinta-owned franchise ended up as the runners-up, they were the most exciting side to watch in the league. With a well balanced side, they are hopeful of producing a similar showing in the Champions League T20, but the absence of their strike bowler Mitchell Johnson is still a cause of concern.

“It is a new start, we take the good things out of IPL, what we learnt as a team and hopefully how much we grew, but I think we focus on the games ahead, it is very much a fresh start.

“It was a good IPL, but it wasn’t the IPL that we wanted (not winning the title), so there’s still a plenty of room for improvement. The form is nice, I am feeling good, had some runs in the practice the other day. It is nice to be settled in one place and we get good support from the crowds. That makes a big difference, it gives you a good feeling as a playing group,” captain George Baily said, speaking before the start of the tournament.

On the other hand, coach Sanjay Bangar also looked to be in a positive mood.

“As of now, we are still waiting for clearance from Cricket Australia. We cannot really take a call as of now as we are still waiting for his clearance. Whether he is available or not, we still have a group of individuals who are capable of executing the role that is being given to them. It will be good if he is available, but we are ready to cope with the eventuality of his non-availability,” Bangar said.