The start is going to be crucial, says Gayle

 To call Chris Gayle Royal Challengers Bangalore's best player in the IPL last year would be like calling Che Guevara a man with a wispy beard. Arriving five games in as replacement for Dirk Nannes, Gayle carried a hitherto flagging outfit to the brink of the title in sensational fashion, his contribution incapable of being overstated enough.

The imposing Jamaican spoke to the press at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday after an hour in the nets.

Excerpts:

Retention by RCB: I was looking forward to coming back here. There's no doubt about it. The hospitality here is always good. I think I'm most welcome here. I'm looking forward to IPL-V and hopefully I can have a better tournament than the last one.

Pressure of expectations: The expectation is very high based on what happened last year. But last year is history and we don't know what the future holds. I'm not a person to actually predict and say yes, I'm going to better 600 odd runs. We'll just have to wait and see.

Losing two finals (IPL-IV and Champions League) with RCB: It was disappointing. But the good thing is we should gain some experience from reaching those two finals. If we do reach that stage again, we know what to expect and we can cross the hurdle.

It was a wonderful tournament based on the situation we came from to actually reaching the final. Hopefully we'll get there again and I'm sure we know how to win it this time.

Assessment of rival teams: It's not that one team is the favourite to actually win it. All the teams are well balanced and are up for it. We'll try and do our part, get the basic things right — the batting and the bowling. Once we get those things right, we can definitely be in the final again. The start is going to be crucial. Hopefully we can get off to a good start and try and get to that final four and take it from there.

Rapprochement with WICB: We've had some meetings and some good discussions. We both signed agreements. The ‘side letter' is actually not a dramatic thing. I just asked a few questions about the situation and that's about it.

We'll see what happens and get back on track but first I have to deal with the IPL. I'm available for the entire duration of IPL-V.

Being away from international cricket: I've been out of international cricket for such a long time. It's disappointing. We just have to try and rectify it. I've still got more international cricket left in me.

Groin injury: There's still a bit of a niggle. I'm doing some work on it. Hopefully by the next couple of days leading up to the first game, I'll be ready.