Albie Morkel has only IPL on his mind

Albie Morkel has not been able to cement his place in the South African team so far, but he is a regular in the Chennai Super Kings side.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni has shown great faith in him and the Chennai team management did not hesitate to retain the South African along with Dhoni, M Vijay and Suresh Raina for the fourth edition of the IPL.

For Albie, IPL is the platform that can help him get back his place in the South African team. The Twenty20 format requires genuine all-rounders and Albie offers flexibility to CSK with his ability to open the bowling and score quick runs in the middle.

He has a specific role to play in the team and CSK's success will depend a lot how the South African delivers in the remaining matches. He is a vital cog in the CSK wheel, but he hasn't been at his best this year so far.

"I always try to fulfill my role to the best of my ability. I look to complete my quota as a bowler and score some useful runs at the death. But unfortunately I haven't been able to get enough runs so far and the bowling hasn't been easy as some of the matches were played on fantastic pitches. Couple of times I have run into the players who are in great form and conceded some runs. But I'm confident of getting wickets and scoring big runs. It's just a matter of time..." Albie said after a gruelling practice session on Sunday.

He is not losing sleep over the South Africa berth, rather he is all focused about doing well in the IPL. "Now I'm only focusing on giving my best for CSK and not thinking about anything else," he added.

CSK have already lost three matches out of the five they played so far and they will look to beat Pune Warriors and bag two points at their own den on Monday. But Albie is aware that Yuvraj Singh & Co have been doing well in the tournament and they won't allow CSK a cakewalk.

"We needn't panic now as we'd been in similar situations before recovering well. Last year, we had to win almost every match to make the semifinals and we did that. We're not intimidated by the defeats. We've won two matches convincingly and lost two close games. We have been bowling well, batting well but fielding is one area we're striving to improve.

As the tournament progresses, fielding would make a massive difference and we are trying our best to meet the standards. Besides, we have some great match-winners who can stand up and deliver when it matters, so we're too worried about Monday's game. We have prepared well and are confident enough to win the match," the all-rounder added.

CSK and Pune Warriors will play each other in back-to-back games and Albie said: "Every game is different and that is not a concern at all. The next match will be played on a different surface and a different place where most of the spectators will be supporting them," Albie said.