Brett Lee excited by mentorship role

Brett Lee has said he is "pleased and proud" to be given the bowling mentor's role for Kolkata Knight Riders and is looking forward to juggling his dual role as mentor and opening bowler. The former Australia fast bowler replaced Wasim Akram as bowling mentor for the side after the latter opted to take a year's break.

"I'm really proud and pleased to have been given the bowling mentor's role. My job is to try and impart knowledge to the guys," he told the Telegraph. "Even though it might seem a short span of time, we'll still have eight weeks in hand. Lots of cricket will be played during this period. And from what I saw during nets today, each of the players look in good nick."

KKR's bowling was crucial to their victory last season and the side relied heavily on offspinner Sunil Narine. Lee said that Jacques Kallis could turn out to be an important bowler for KKR this season. "We have lots of key bowlers in our squad," he said. "Guys like (Lakshmipathy) Balaji, (Pradeep) Sangwan are quite capable and ready to step up. Then there's Kallis, who's one of the best cricketers in the world. There simply cannot be any doubt about his ability with the bat. But with the ball, too, Kallis will play a huge role in determining the fortunes of the team."

Lee also expressed his confidence about KKR captain Gautam Gambhir's form going into the IPL. Gambhir was dropped for the first two Tests against Australia and missed out on selection for the remaining Tests after suffering from jaundice.