IPL 8: KXIP skipper George Bailey is ready for spin-friendly pitches
He had to relinquish Australian captaincy as well as his place in the playing XI after World Cup opener but a determined George Bailey used all the available time to prepare himself for the ‘Spin Test’ that he would encounter in the upcoming IPL cricket tournament.
“I usually spend a lot of time training when I am not playing, so no issues there. But it was special to be part of a World Cup winning squad regardless of the fact I did not get to play much,” Bailey, who will be again captaining Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, told PTI on Monday.
“There were a few things I worked specifically on with Darren Lehmann (Australia coach). I knew that coming across to India, I would be playing lot of spin bowling in this (T20) format. So besides fine-tuning my T20 game, the focus was on tackling quality spinners,” Bailey said.
His chances of getting full-time ODI captaincy from the now retired Clarke was bright until a younger Steve Smith grabbed his opportunities by leading his country to a 2-0 win over India in the four-match Test series.
Now, 32-year-old himself can’t “imagine” being captain again with selectors likely to opt for Smith, who is seven years younger to Bailey. Whatever happens with his international career, his immediate task to ensure KXIP show the form they showed last-year to finish runners-up.
“We obviously enjoyed the success (in World Cup) but most of the guys have shifted their focus to IPL and we will be coming across each other as opponents now.
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