“I think that Sourav's always been a nice guy. I've always got along with him well and I look forward to playing under him.” -Photo by AFP

ROSEAU, Dominica: Michael Clarke headed for his first stint in the Indian Premier League on Friday, insisting that he was looking forward to playing under former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.

Clarke masterminded Australia's 2-0 Test series win in the West Indies, taking his record as national team captain since succeeding Ricky Ponting last year to nine wins, three draws and two defeats.

But at the Pune Warriors, he will have to play under Ganguly whose international career featured a number of fierce, competitive clashes with the Australians.

“I think that Sourav's always been a nice guy. I've always got along with him well and I look forward to playing under him,” said Clarke, after Australia beat West Indies by 75 runs in the third and final Test.

“It seems like he's doing a really good job as captain-coach over there and I've spoken to a couple of the boys and they seem to be really happy about how things are so for me it's an eye-opener.”

Clarke will have to reacquaint himself with the Twenty20 cricket in India having already quit the shorter international form of the game to concentrate on his Test and ODI career with Australia.

“I've never been to the IPL. I've said for a long time that when the opportunity comes up and I feel that it's right for me that I'd love to get over there and have a crack and see what it's like,” he said.