South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir wants to ensure a smooth transition from ODI cricket to Twenty20 competition, ahead of this month’s Indian Premier League.

Tahir, who was among the 2015 World Cup’s top 10 wicket-takers, will represent the Delhi Daredevils at the seventh edition of the IPL, which will get underway on Wednesday.

‘It’s hard being a spinner, obviously, especially in T20 cricket. But we have a key role to play. There is still a lot we bring to the table. Having variety is very important. If you don’t have variations you are not going to survive, especially in India, as the Indian players are so good against spin,’ said Tahir.

‘I have to adjust to the conditions very quickly. It’s big difference from T20 to 50-over cricket. But if you back yourself, you can do well. All types of spinners have a big role to play. T20 is a good challenge, but you need to go there with a big heart.

‘It’s not like you are going to give flight to the ball and the batsman is going to defend. If you give flight then it is going to go for six here. Even in Test cricket, you can’t be a classical spinner like you were 20 years ago. So your pace needs to be very good for all the formats.’

The 36-year-old will be accompanied by fellow South African players Albie Morkel and Quinton de Kock, captain JP Duminy and coach Gary Kirsten at the Daredevils. The franchise, which finished stone last in the 2014 event, have also recruited Australian duo Nathan Coulter-Nile and Gurinder Sandhu – and Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews.