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The Champions League is an outstanding concept that helps showcase domestic talent on the world stage. The opportunity is really very exciting for teams like the New South Wales Blues and the excitement within the group was palpable as we left Sydney Airport, for India. Not surprisingly, the younger players are thrilled to get a chance to play India before big crowds.
The Blues are a very competitive outfit, and we do have a number of international players who have played in these conditions before. That said, we are a little thin on Twenty20 experience, and if one scans the statistics of our players it's clear that most of the team has seen too much of this format. However, we have a very balanced squad and I am confident that we will give a very good fight to the others.
Looking at the group we are placed in, we play the Diamond Eagles and the Sussex Sharks at the start. It is an advantage for us that we are not playing against one of the Indian sides straight up, and that obviously helps. However, both Sussex and the Eagles are good sides, and we don't expect an easy run against either of them.
Personally, it's always been great fun playing in India, and I have enjoyed both seasons with the Kings XI Punjab tremendously. The team has a great deal of warmth and bonhomie, and we were a happy, enthusiastic unit. It's hard to say which team I would have played for if Punjab had qualified. I have played and trained with New South Wales for many, many seasons, and as captain it would have been extremely hard to have not played for the Blues. However, I would not have found it easy to have said no to Preity Zinta either!
At the start of the tournament, it's clear that the Indian teams and Wayamba do have a slight advantage since they are familiar with these conditions and flourish in them. However, the other teams have many internationals who have played here, and adapting to these conditions should not be a problem for them.
Being part of the beginning of a new concept is always exciting, no matter how experienced you are. Right now, we are all excited to be at the start of an exciting new concept, and each member of the Blues squad is just counting down the time between now and our opening game against the Diamond Eagles.
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