Fit- again Arvind ready for the challenge

Sreenath Arvind, who was the toast of the Royal Challengers Bangalore last year, emerging as the third highest wicket- taker, has had a forgettable season so far. A long- standing knee injury came back to haunt the left- arm pacer and he was ruled for the better part of the domestic season.

However, six months later, Arvind is ready to replicate his IPL- 4 form that fetched him 21 wick- ets from 13 matches and also a place in the Indian one- day squad. Arvind, who turned 28 on Wednesday, said he looking for a fresh start.

“I am coming into the IPL after recovering from an injury, hence my focus is on getting a good to start. I have fully recovered from knee injury and I am looking forward to getting into the playing field. Coming into IPL, it’s like a platform to take your game to another level,” said Arvind.

The Karnataka bowler

The expectations are very much there, but there is no pressure as such. I will concentrate on bowling more dot balls.

admitted the pressure of expectations from the home fans would be enormous, but the lanky lad confident of coping with it. “The expectations are very much there, but there is no pressure as such. I will concentrate on bowling more dot balls. I have many variations like slower ones and I have been focusing more on it,” he noted.

Arvind said his brief stint with the Indian team has helped him a lot, albeit he didn’t get to showcase his skills at the international level. “I learnt many things, the environment was completely different. There were many positives as in the dressing room there was no senior and junior division. I also learnt more about my bowling,” he said.

Having bowled in tandem with Zaheer Khan last year, Arvind is eager to learn more from India’s bowling lynchpin.

” We approach Zaheer whenever we need to know about our bowling. He is a great asset to have in the side, as he plays a mentor’s role to me, Vinay ( Kumar), Mithun.”