Power-hitting is the norm in Twenty20 cricket, but Punjab Kings batter Cooper Connolly is supporting a more methodical approach to success based on time, speed, and trust.
In his IPL debut, the 22-year-old Australian made an instant impression, leading PBKS to a three-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans with a calm, undefeated 72 from 44 balls.
His conviction that there are multiple ways to dominate in the shortest format was reinforced by the innings.
“Each player has their own strengths, and I’m pretty keen to stick to my own strengths, which has been successful for me so far. Obviously power is becoming a big part of T20 cricket, but there’s other ways to go around it and that’s going to be me sort of understanding and learning,” PTI quoted Connolly as saying on ‘JioStar Press Room’.
Connolly is content with his current strategy and feels that his tempo-based style of play makes him the most valuable member of the squad. He does not, however, oppose evolution.
“I’ll keep sticking to what has worked for the last five or six years and slowly adapt from there, adding little bits to the puzzle.”
When asked about his strategy in the IPL, Connolly stated that he tries to put pressure on the spinners in an effort to get captains to go back to the pacers, which works well for him.
“The wickets, obviously, have been relatively nice so far, so I think it’s just about trying to put the pressure back on the spin and really just try to hone the spin and bring the quicks back on, because I feel like that’s where I do my best work, with the quicks.
“So, yeah, just making sure I’m trying to just dominate as much as I can and hit the ball hard. There’s a challenge as well, playing with spinners around, and sometimes that’s not going to happen, so it’s how can I manage that.”
