Jaipur: Nicknames help breed familiarity and the adage has worked perfectly for the Rajasthan Royals, which has managed to get players of different nationalities to gel together by simply giving them funky names in the dressing room.

Shane Warne’s men, whom he also coaches, were dismissed as mere underdogs at the start of the Indian Premier League but as the tournament enters its second phase, the Royals have emerged serious contenders for at least reaching the semifinals.

And their success mantra has been sticking together as a team by overcoming the differences in their nationalities and cultures, a task made easier by having friendly nicknames, which specify every player’s role in the side.

So Yusuf Pathan becomes the ‘Blaster’, a tag he has lived upto so far with some smashing knocks and Swapnil Asnodkar is ‘Goa Dynamo’ for his teammates.

Asnodkar too has made sure that he is true to his nickname by giving fine starts to the team at the top of the order.

“I am proud of my team,” said Warne as he let out the dressing room secret.
Source: sports.in.msn.com