Mumbai: West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard, among the most devastating batsmen lower down the order in IPL III, is prepared to bat at any number for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) in South Africa.

“Where ever I am asked to bat I would do so. I want to perform for my team, that’s all,” said Pollard on Thursday night.

In the third edition of the Indian Premier League, Pollard used to come in at No. 7 or 8 for MI and strike deadly late blows to take the match away from the opposition. He scored 213 runs off only 124 balls from 12 matches.

He also hit a staggering 12 sixes and 19 fours that helped him maintain a superb strike rate of 171.77 at the end of the tournament. The Sachin Tendulkar-led MI finished runners-up to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings.

Looking ahead to the CLT20, Pollard — who is recovering from an eye injury — said he had a doctor’s appointment later in the day. “I have a doctor’s appointment and I’m confident I would be fit for the Champions League (commencing on September 10). The swelling has gone down a lot,” he said.

The genial giant, set to meet up with his MI teammates in Johannesburg after flying out with fellow-Trinidadian Dwayne Bravo on September 5, was upbeat about his IPL team’s chances in CLT20. “We have a good team with impressive young batsmen like Shikhar Dhawan and Saurabh Tiwary.

It all will boil down to how well we adapt to the conditions in South Africa, which will be bouncy and seaming, definitely different to Indian wickets.

“We have to play good cricket and respect every opponent,” the 23-year-old said. Pollard, who bowls off breaks, did not think the lay-off due to injury would be difficult for players like him, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan to surmount in the run-up to the team’s opening match. (PTI)