Illness keeps Gambhir off KKR flight

Gautam Gambhir, the Kolkata Knight Riders captain, is not travelling with his team-mates to Pune ahead of their clash against Kings XI Punjab. "Cramps, weakness and fever...bad timing," Gambhir tweeted. "Living on khichdee and curd-rice..."

Not travelling to Pune with @KKRiders today. Cramps, weakness and fever...bad timing. Living on khichdee and curd-rice...

— GGF (@GautamGambhir) April 15, 2015

Knight Riders face Kings XI on April 18, which gives Gambhir a decent window of time to recover and join his team in time for the match.

David Warner, the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain, has said that on current form Trent Boult is "just ahead" of Dale Steyn, who has not been included in the XI for Sunrisers' first two games. Boult, with four wickets in two matches, is the leading wicket-taker for the team.

"Trent Boult has been in fantastic form. Look at how he bowled in the World Cup. He was the best bowler barring Mitchell Starc," Warner said. "The condition suited him [Bangalore] here and suited him in the last game. We feel Trent is just ahead of Dale. We will definitely use Dale in the tournament … At the moment Trent is going fantastic so Dale just misses out."

Shane Watson, the Rajasthan Royals' captain, is eyeing a return to the team for the home game against Chennai Super Kings on April 19. "I got hit around the hip during the first training session of the tournament and it has taken a bit of time to recover," Watson told iplt20.com. "We are going to travel to Vizag overnight, so it's going to be touch and go for the next game. I will surely be back in the team for our game here against the Chennai Super Kings."

Royals, on a three-match winning streak under Steven Smith's leadership, face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Visakhapatnam on April 16.

M Vijay, the Kings XI Punjab opener, is one of the two Indian batsmen to score two centuries in the IPL and he has said he is looking forward to a couple more this eason. "I don't think openers can ever blame (anything) because we have got 20 overs to go and play," Vijay told iplt20.com. "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 (centuries) this season."

Curbing his natural aggression has brought Vijay success in Test cricket but in IPL, he is looking to, "not do that! Not to curb yourself, but just go and express yourself and give the start the team requires," he said.

Vijay's idol, not surprisingly, is another stylist. "I always liked Mark Waugh," he said. "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."

Corey Anderson, the Mumbai Indians allrounder, has said that he wants to improve as a finisher. With two half-centuries, Anderson is the leading run-scorer for his team. "We had (Michael) Hussey last year with us," he said. "He was an unbelievable finisher and so was Michael Bevan. These guys finished games and made it look easy. I have been able to put myself into positions where I can potentially win the game but I tend to get out just before doing so. I am hoping that with a bit of experience and time I'll start learning these things. You learn to put the pieces together."