Kochi, Apr 6, (PTI) : Kochi Tuskers Kerala, which is making its debut in the 2011 edition of the Indian Premier League, today introduced its players and launched its promotional logo for the Twenty20 tournament starting on Friday. 

 
The team is slated to meet Royal Challengers Bangalore in its opening match at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here on April 9.

The team's video was unveiled by Kochi IPL Franchise in the presence of actor Jayaram at a function here.

Talking to reporters, KTK coach Geoff Lawson said the team's captain Mahela Jayawardene, who made 103 in the World Cup final against India, was expected to join the team on the match day.

"We have four World Cup players -- Mahela, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thisara Perera and S Sreesanth. They have to be fresh and deserve a rest. Unfortunately, Mahela will be around on match day while Indian pacer Sreesanth, Murali and Thisara are expected to join the team tomorrow," Lawson said.

On Sreesanth, who had played only two matches in the World Cup, he said he was an experienced cricketer.

"It is good for us that he had not played much cricket.

"The Kochi team is a new team. There are lot of challenges. The management had an enormous task putting the team together. It was a difficult birth for this franchise," he
said.

Another member VVS Laxman is an experienced player.

"There are challenges. But we are confident of performing early on. We are looking to play well and win games. There will not be any excuses of not behaving well as a team."
The team had a practice session today and will be training tomorrow also.

KTK has been working hard under Lawson and their hard work will reap good results this season, Mukesh Patel, one of the directors, said.