Watson, Binny give us a really balanced squad: Daniel Vettori

Daniel Vettori, the head coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, believes that the inclusion of Shane Watson and Stuart Binny to his franchise provides a balance which gives them the luxury of options - one that is an asset in the shortest format.

"We are very happy with team we have," said Vettori on Tuesday (April 5) in the midst of a Royal Challengers' training session at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. "Last year we did lots of things really well but the likes of Watson and Binny gives us a really balanced squad.

"To have those guys that have the ability to bat in the top order and bowl four overs is a real luxury. You look at the teams that have been successful in the IPL so far -- Chennai (Super Kings) with the likes of (Ravindra) Jadeja, (Suresh) Raina and (Dwayne) Bravo and KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) as well have had them with Shakib (Al Hasan). So we're banking on the fact that we have six or seven bowling options. As everyone knows, the Chinnaswamy is a tough place to bowl at so to give ourselves those options is very important," he added.

Shane Watson announced his retirement from the international cricket after the ICC World twenty20 2016. In the tournament where Australia were handed a semifinal exit at the hands of India, Watson scored 96 in four innings with a strike rate of a handy 150; he also picked up five wickets.

Watson's form with the bat and ball will bode well for the Royal Challengers, who are otherwise fretting over the injury concerns of Mitchell Starc and Samuel Badree. Starc, who was their second-highest wicket-taker last season with 20 wickets, was the side's most economical bowler. However, a foot injury that he suffered in the day-night Test against New Zealand kept him out of the Australian summer and the subsequent World T20. And now, the IPL, which presents the other fast bowlers in the squad to step up and make the most of the opportunity.

"Everyone's seen how Mitch has bowled in the last couple of years, T20s and his death bowling," said Vettori. "That's something we're going to miss. It's difficult bowling at the Chinnaswamy and so whenever we had him in the team we knew we had those four overs up our sleeve. That's a loss but it's an opportunity for the likes of Adam Milne and Kane Richardson to step up and fill in that slot.

Starc, however, was named in Australia's 16-man squad for a One-Day International tri-series against South Africa and hosts West Indies.

Badree, on the other hand, was West Indies's best bowler with nine wickets in six innings at the World T20, averaging just under 14. An economy rate of 5.39 is evidence of how he contained batsmen. In the final of the tournament Badree dived and took a spectacular catch to dismiss Liam Plunkett of England, but in the process hurt his shoulder.

"We knew the quality he brings and his record is fantastic," said Vettori of the right-arm spinner. "We're just hoping he recovers from his shoulder injury and gets back to the team as soon as possible. He's in the air, back to Trinidad. That was always the plan. He'll see a specialist there and hopefully we'll get some feedback soon."

While the WT20 had a lot of wickets that were slow and aided spinners, having been involved in the IPL for a number of years now had Vettori in doubt whether the same wickets would be used.

"Let's see if the wickets stay the same. The wickets were really conducive to spin (during the WT20) and it was great to see from a personal perspective. I think we'll probably see a lot of the wickets that we're used to seeing in the IPL and a lot of high-scoring games. It's going to be a challenge for the bowlers."