The Champions League is an interesting prospect. It is a platform for domestic cricketers to get on the world stage and parade their skills, an opportunity that, I am sure, will be grabbed with both hands by the members in each of the 12 teams.

It’s nice that we are playing the tournament in India. The country missed out on the Indian Premier League-2 action and this tournament will go some way in compensating for that.

For the three Indian Premier League teams involved, it will be great to play in front of home crowds again. The support, I am sure, will be for the three home teams as the crowd is unlikely to identify itself with the visiting teams, though with time and good cricket, that too, will change.

There is nothing like playing in front of a crowd roaring for you and we’re looking forward to the event. It should be an interesting tournament as the other teams too have international players of repute and I am sure it will be good entertainment during the festival season.

The spirit in the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp is high, just as it was in South Africa a few months back. Incidentally, we don’t feel we have been away from each other for too long as a group.

In fact, it feels as if this is an extension of the Indian Premier League. Everyone in the team is looking forward to the challenge.

Following our exploits in Indian Premier League-2 where we made the final, the expectations of our supporters and people in general will be high.

But we would like to approach this tournament like we did the Indian Premier League, one game at a time. It never pays when you try and get ahead of yourself.

The two other teams in our group — Cape Cobra and Otaga Volts —are the champion sides from their respective nations and possess some quality players.

This is where the presence of so many South African players in our side will benefit us. We will pick the brains of Boucher, Kallis, etc. and make our plans for the Cape Cobras. Ross Taylor will be able to tell us something about his fellow Kiwis in the Otago Volts.

That said, the key also lies in understanding our own strengths and focus more on that, rather than worry too much about the opposition. For, ultimately, we have to depend on our skills and our abilities to get us through.

The opening ceremony is slated before our opening match and I am sure it will be a great spectacle.

Everyone is looking forward to it and, going by what we saw in the first Indian Premier League, you can’t blame them. This show may be even better, I suspect.

In such a scenario, it will be great for Royal Challengers Bangalore to move ahead in this tournament and perhaps go all the way. That will be our aim. We have to remember one thing though. Ultimately Twenty20 cricket is all about enjoying oneself, playing freely and soaking in the atmosphere.