Australia all-rounder Cooper Connolly, who recently joined the Punjab Kings, takes pleasure in his versatility and is willing to bat at any position the team sees appropriate during his first IPL season.
Connolly, who is renowned for his aggressive batting, deft fielding, and useful left-arm spin, was purchased by Punjab Kings earlier this month for Rs 3 crore in the mini-auction.
“I like to model my game on being able to be versatile in any position. So whether that’s at three, whether that’s in the middle, I’m happy to perform any role,” Connolly said at a virtual media interaction on Monday.
The 22-year-old, who is now batting at No. 3 in the Big Bash League, has been in incredible form for the Perth Scorchers, smashing two scorching fifties.
But as captain Shreyas Iyer noted after the auction, Punjab Kings are especially interested in his ability to finish games and manage under pressure.
“I feel like I’m still learning the role at number three for the (Perth) Scorchers. It’s a role I enjoy. But if the role in the IPL is different, that’s totally understandable because it’s a world class team.”
“To just be in the middle order would be sort of a nice opportunity just to sort of knuckle down and get to work in the middle order,” he added.
Connolly has made a name for himself in Australian cricket as one of the most promising young players. Before receiving his Baggy Green in January, he made his T20I and ODI debut in September of previous year.
During the ODI series against India, the Western Australian also made an impression by delivering a composed, match-winning knock under pressure.
Connolly added that adjusting to the demands of international cricket has been essential to his quick ascent over the last three years.
“I think over the last three years, it’s been about understanding how different the international level is. It’s about adjusting to that, understanding how bowlers are trying to get me out more and how I can counter that.”
“I’ve had to earn the right to be in the Australian set-up. So it’s about learning from guys like Travis Head, Steve Smith, how they go about it and how they sort of train to all those standards.”
“I’m just trying to tweak my game slowly and add more strings to it as I move forward.”
Connolly added that he is excited to collaborate closely with Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting, Australia’s World Cup-winning captain.
“I’ve heard a lot of good things about him. I haven’t done a lot of work with him just yet. So, I’m looking forward to spending some time with him and sort of doing some tweaks to my batting and seeing what his thoughts are on it.”
He is also excited to compete against some of the world’s top bowlers at the IPL.
“Everyone goes to this tournament (IPL) because it’s probably going to be the most competitive. And also looking forward to getting over there and challenging myself against some of the best bowlers in the world.”
Connolly stated that adjusting to spin will be difficult because IPL conditions will be very different from Australia’s fast, bouncy grounds.
“Yeah, it’s very different to Australia. We’ve obviously got some fast, bouncy wickets. But that challenge of playing spin is a challenge that is tough for everyone.”
“So, it’s just about picking the brains of people that have done it for a long period of time and understanding how they go about it, I guess, add their method into my game and see how I can sort of play in those spinning conditions.”
