Mumbai Indians

Robin you are at the start of a new journey in your career. How does it feel and how have your preparations been for the inaugural IPL tournament?

The preparation has been good. Our team is preparing really quietly and we are preparing quite well actually. We have a good bunch of youngsters and it seems like a good team coming along. So we are hoping we’ll have a fantastic first IPL.

Robin, you are basically a Bangalore boy, you grew up in Bangalore and played most of your cricket there. So were you a bit disappointed when you were not selected to be a part of the Bangalore team?

Actually, it is very pleasing to know that I’m appreciated all over the country. It was very humbling for me to know that people around the country want me in their teams because of the way I play. But yes, I was a touch disappointed I wouldn’t be playing for Bangalore. But again, I even got a fantastic compliment from Dr. Vijay Mallya when he said that the Bangalore team is only 96% complete without Robin. So I thank him for that. It feels good to be in Mumbai and I feel at home because I’ve played a lot of my cricket with these guys in Mumbai, so it’s really nice to be here with all these boys. And my corporate team again is from here so its good to be here in Mumbai and play cricket with all these boys.

You’ve had a few practice sessions here with the Mumbai Indians. So how is the team gelling as a unit and how is the confidence level before the start of the tournament?

Confidence level is quite high and the team is gelling quite well. We had a practice session today and it went really well. The team is preparing extremely well and all of us are very keen about this tournament and are looking forward to it.

You’ve shared the dressing room with Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh before, but it will be strange and interesting to share the dressing room with Sanath Jayasurya, Shaun Pollock and the likes of Lasith Malinga and Ashwell Prince. What is that feeling like and how are you looking forward to it?

(I am) overwhelmed. I am really looking forward to that one. Its something that is so different and I think a lot of us are really fortunate to have some great cricketers in our team. We have Shaun Pollock who is probably the best opening bowler who’s ever played. He is a fantastic allrounder, and then we have Sanath, who is probably one of the best openers in the world. We have Sachin, who’s probably the best cricketer we have ever seen. So Mumbai team is very fortunate that we have these great cricketers with us. We are all looking forward to it and I am really looking forward to learn a lot from these guys because they all are best in their own way. So I am very keen and very happy. I have already had a few words with them and I am getting to know them really well, so its really nice.

You’ve played a lot of Twenty20 cricket and you are quite an aggressive batsman, so this format really suits your style. Do you enjoy this format?

Yes, but not as much as the Test matches or the One Day games. I like the longest version the most and then comes One Day Cricket. Twenty20 is basically entertainment. There’s a lot more for the crowd than the cricketers. Not that the cricketers don’t enjoy it, we do enjoy, but its lots more entertainment than cricket.

Has it been decided what position you’ll be batting on?

Not yet, because Sachin is still injured. So we don’t know where and when (I’ll be batting).

So if Sachin doesn’t get to play, will we see you open?

Hopefully. Let us see!

And will we get to see Robin Uthappa bowl in this tournament, because even though you haven’t bowled in international cricket, we know you can roll your arm over a bit.

Yes, you might see me bowling here actually.

Are Mumbai Indians really confident of being the team to beat?

Yes, absolutely! Like our slogan goes, We’ll rock the world!

And are there any goals that your team has set for themselves?

We do have goals. We’re looking to get into the last four right now. That’s the initial goal and the team seems to be working towards it already. So it’s all looking bright and good right now.

Thank you so much Robin and wish you all the best not only for this tournament but for your entire career.