RCB will have to play five games inside 13 days against MI (away), Delhi Capitals (home), Rajasthan Royals (away) and Punjab Kings (home).
Royal Challengers Bengaluru head of operations Mo Bobat on Tuesday said he is trying to keep the players fresh for the upcoming hectic travel days, so that the team can produce optimum level performance in those crucial games.
The Royal Challengers have played just two matches in the first fortnight of the IPL, but a hectic travel sched kicks off with the match against Mumbai Indians.
RCB will have to play five games inside 13 days against MI (away), Delhi Capitals (home), Rajasthan Royals (away) and Punjab Kings (home).
"I think you just deal with the schedule that you are given. We definitely try to focus on those first couple of games at making the statement start. So, we use that as something to motivate the group. So I don't think that's a big issue,” said Bobat in the pre-match press meet in Bengaluru.
“I think a bigger challenge for us scheduling-wise is probably the amount of travel that we've got. We've actually got quite a laid-back start. But the middle is very congested. I think from after this game onwards we play something like seven games in 22 days with seven travel days. That's a very hectic schedule,” he added.
“So I'm more interested in how we keep the boys fresh through that period and keep playing the way we want to play.”
Bobat hoped the RCB bowling unit would deliver at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, a venue where the bowlers traditionally find it difficult to stop the flow of runs.
“It feels a little bit weird having played two games and having not played a game at home yet. So, I'm really excited to be here. I think everybody knows what to expect from a surface here in Bangalore. It's a good wicket, it's a pretty short boundary, so they're typically high scoring games.
“We think we've got a bowling attack that's particularly skillful and that can deal with the challenge of bowling here. Attacking here, but also defending here,” he said.
In that context, the Englishman said the presence of experienced campaigners like Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the bowling has eased a lot of worries.
“They are two bowlers with extreme class. International pedigree. They're not easy bowlers to play against. It's also worth mentioning Yash Dayal. I think as a three-man pace bowling unit, those three have got a high degree of variety.
"We think they'll be well suited to bowling somewhere difficult and challenging like here. So at the minute we're very happy with how those guys have got on,” he said.
Bobat also expressed satisfaction over the fitness levels of Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood.
The Indian veteran had missed RCB's opening game against the Kolkata Knight Riders, while Hazlewood had to miss a considerable amount of cricket in recent months because of hip and calf injuries.
"It's not a major cause of concern right now because they're both fit. Obviously, Bhuvi had a slightly slower start because he had a very minor niggle and we didn't want to put him at risk. Josh came off the back of an injury with Cricket Australia but they managed that pretty conservatively and then handed him over to us and we finished that rehab here.
“Our medical team is doing a brilliant job. If you look at us relative to probably other teams we've not had too many sub-tissue injuries. So, we are trying to keep them in the park because we know how good they are,” he explained.
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