That the power packed Kings XI Punjab team has been further strengthened by the inclusion of Murali Vijay ahead of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2015 has been reiterated by their coaches and their captain in press conferences. The batsman himself is enjoying the opportunity to play in the George Bailey-led side and looking to extend his form from the international season into the tournament. While he has established himself as vital cog in the Indian Test team in the recent months, Vijay also has a strike rate close to 125 and two centuries against his name in the T20 format.

Hoping to add to his tally of hundreds, the opener says he has learnt about batting in the shortest format from veteran cricketer Michael Hussey. While speaking to iplt20.com in Pune after a long training session – which involved batting, bowling and fielding, Vijay spoke about batting in T20, explained the technique needed to be successful in the format and shared his thoughts on getting the opportunity of opening the innings with Virender Sehwag which he hadn’t got while sharing the national team’s dressing room with the legendary batsman.

Excerpts from the interview:How has your form over the last year helped coming into the IPL?It has helped very much actually. It is a new team for me this year and everything is going good as of now. So obviously I am looking forward to the upcoming games.

I have been hitting the ball pretty well for a long time now. I got starts in the previous two games and I looking forward to converting the starts into bigger innings. You’ve had a good season in international cricket.

How much of a confidence booster is it?It definitely is. That’s what I always wanted to do - score at the highest level and doing that gives you immense satisfaction. And personally you like to up the performance from whatever you have done so far and want to do to raise your bar.

That is what I am really looking for. You have a couple of centuries in the IPL. With several big-hitters in the KXIP side, how do you shift between roles?My understanding is simple.

I don’t think openers can ever blame (anything) because we have got twenty overs to go and play. If I can play out around 15-16 overs I will be somewhere close to my hundred. So I have got the best opportunity; I cannot have any problems with that.

Obviously I am happy in that way and I am looking forward for maybe a couple of more (hundreds) this season. Can you elaborate on your role?They (team management) trust me as an opener. Obviously they want me to be the one who can play out the overs and if I play out the overs they know I would put the team in a pretty good situation.

You are someone who can hit big as well as anchor the innings. How do you manage that kind of a role? I honestly think that if the momentum is with you, you got to carry it on for a little longer than be aggressive (over a short period of time) because that is the point where you go and get out. You cannot wait for it (for the moment to start playing the big shots), rather you just form the momentum yourself gradually and keep pushing and playing sensible cricket.

I think that’s what is required and hopefully I can do it.An opener has to assess the pitch and set the tone quickly in T20. How do you go about it?The situation matters.

If you are batting first and the wicket has more grass on it or it is damp, we have to assess it really fast and send in a message to the team dressing room letting the team know what will be a good score and stuff like that. And if we are chasing again we have a game plan. We have a ten minute break and obviously we are going to talk about it and (plan) how to go about it.

Nobody is going to put pressure on the openers because our job is to go and do it one way and give the team a good start. You had spoken about shot selection and curbing instincts in Tests. How do you approach T20? Not do that! Not to curb yourself, but just go and express yourself and give the start the team requires.

How important is technique?It is definitely important. Every format has its own specific needs and everything needs technique. Without technique you cannot do anything.

I believe so. And obviously technique is not everything as well, so nobody can be perfect. So it’s about how (much) you know about your own technique; to counter that particular ball is what matters at the end of the day.

How important is power-hitting? Or is timing the key, or does that differ from batsman to batsman?I think the ball should cross the ropes rather than it going to the stands. It doesn’t matter where it goes as long as it’s going to get you six runs. I am not saying that power-hitting is not involved, but again it should suit your game and every individual is different.

And obviously what you can do best, you should be contributing to your team (with that) rather than thinking about something else’s methods. What is it like opening with Virender Sehwag?It is always exciting. I have been part of the Indian team when he was playing but I did not get an opportunity to open with him at that time.

But now I have the opportunity to open with him; he plays the way he wants to and it is such a nice sight to be standing at the non-striker’s end and see him play fearlessly and with freedom. He is a good character too; it is fun to play with him.Who have you admired most as an opener and why? I always liked Mark Waugh.

I am a Mark Waugh fan. I was crazy about him when I was a kid. I don’t know why, but I liked the way he carried himself in the field, the way he was and everything about him.

And obviously in India I like Sachin (Tendulkar), no doubt about it. I like Viru pa (Virender Sehwag) and now I like the way I play. What are the challenges and adjustments needed for T20?You have got to keep yourself cool in T20 because you don’t have much time to react.

You have to assess the situation really quickly and for that you need a calm head and a clear mind. These are things which have been taught to me by Michael Hussey. He is one player who I really admired playing with.

I have learnt a lot, and hopefully I can pass it on to youngsters. Quick paced and very intense, the tournament and the T20 format itself, how do you adjust and adapt to different venues and situations?Being an Indian I obviously have a better idea than players from Australia or South Africa (about the conditions). And now even they give me insights of the ground, like here in Pune what happens and how it works.

Everybody is keyed into this tournament and it is exciting for me. It’s actually going to be the same pretty much across India, it’s not going to be a massive change at different venues. .

Source: http://www.iplt20.com/news/2015/features/5966/want-to-improve-my-finishing-skills-anderson