England's T20 World Cup captain Paul Collingwood is keen on getting some match practice in the ongoing IPL before heading to the West Indies.

By Pallav Joshi

"I am raring to go," The Englishman, who represents the Delhi outfit, said on Sunday.

"It's a great opportunity to get back into Twenty20 mode. We have a World Cup coming up in the West Indies and I am the skipper of the Twenty20 squad. So it is a great chance to work on the mental aspect of the game and prepare for the event."

Asked about the form of the Delhi side, which has lost three of the six games, Collingwood said: "I wouldn't say we are in a bad position. Yes, we have lost three games but there is lot of confidence in the team after the last win. A few more wins and we will peak at the right time. I feel we still have a great chance to make it to the semis."

Asked if playing Test cricket and then moving over to T20 is a challenge, Collingwood said: "I don't think we have any mental block playing here. IPL involves travelling and playing in different pitches and its all about adjusting to the different conditions. You never know how any wicket is going to play. I have not played a single match yet. Hopefully I will play tomorrow and will try to boost the middle order.

"I have done something similar in Bangladesh playing for England and so my role will be similar. I am looking forward to playing in the tournament."

Asked about the Kolkata side, who they will play on Monday, Collingwood observed, "They have some dangerous players. (Chris) Gayle is their number one batsman and it is important to get him early. They also have a match-winner in Shane Bond. It is going to be a difficult match.

"But we also have some good players in (Virender) Sehwag, (David) Warner, (Dinesh) Karthik. Everybody is in good spirit and we look to carry on the good momentum."

Coach Greg Shipperd, one being asked the crucial question about the availability of Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra, said: "He (Gambhir) is improving rapidly but we are still assessing his fitness and will conduct a fitness test before the game tomorrow to see if he is match fit. Nehra is also improving steadily but he will not play tomorrow."

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