Cooper Connolly has been a bit of an unexpected – for those on the outside, clearly not within his team – success for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2026.
On Sunday against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), he hit 87 in 46 balls. It was relegated to second-best by Priyansh Arya, who hit 93 in 37 balls, but Connolly’s contribution in PBKS putting up the highest total of the season so far can’t be overlooked. As is the case with his consistency, which has netted him 223 runs so far, more than Prabhsimran Singh (211), Arya (211) and Shreyas Iyer (208) so far. All by sticking to what he calls are his strengths, which are a little bit different to the crash-bang-wallop we are getting used to.
Which is what Connolly watched from the other end as Arya went about his business, the two putting on a breathtaking 182 runs in 80 balls.
“Everyone has their own understanding of their ability and how they go about it and what works for them. So, I think it’s individually sort of understanding what works for you in those moments and what makes you successful for a long period of time,” Connolly said at the press conference after the game about being put to the shade by Arya. “And yeah, I think we will have discussions about what works for each other and we take little things out of each other’s books. We’re all looking to try and get better. That’s what the game’s about.
“You’re trying to get better and you’re trying to, I guess, be the best team there is. And yeah, we’ve enjoyed sort of taking little notes off each other, and we’re looking forward to, yeah, plenty more notes and messages from each other to get better as a group and a squad.”
Connolly has already had major contributions in two of PBKS’ five wins (to go with one washout) this season, having won the Player-of-the-Match award in his first IPL game, also PBKS’ season-opener, where he scored 72* in 44 balls. After that, too, Connolly had stressed that he was “keen to stick to my own strengths” as he grew in the game, and not attempt to score faster if it didn’t come naturally to him.
“I think there’s a time and a place for that kind of stuff and that’s understanding what’s worked for you over a long period of time,” he said, adding that each batter chose what made them tick. “I think it’s about knowing their strengths and sticking to their strengths. They know where they’re dominant. They know what are some areas that they might get targeted in. And they work on those throughout the week in between games to get better at.
“And that’s just the thing about cricket. Everyone’s trying to get better in these areas. And yeah, people are going to try to find the weakness when you’re batting and they’re going to try to bowl to it. But it’s understanding what is that and how can we be better.”
The Ponting hand in Connolly’s rise
Ricky Ponting, the PBKS coach, played a role in bringing Connolly to the set-up, and has had a major influence on his career so far, as Faf du Plessis pointed out on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut programme after the game.
“Ricky Ponting would have seen a lot of him in Australia and possibly more than other people around the world. So he would have backed him to come here,” du Plessis said. “But even just for a young guy to be working with someone like Ricky Ponting early on in his international career – because he’s also been fast-tracked into the international team perhaps ahead of a lot of other players – in terms of a batting coach, a mentor, guys like that really fast-track your career.
“So he’s in a good position now and in his first IPL he’s putting in performances to lock himself in for that consistency, because players like that, you want to see them maximise their full potential. Even when they come over to the IPL, you want them to do well because they’re all good players and they can be good in the future.”
The Ponting-Iyer firm
It was said last season, when PBKS reached the final of the IPL, and is being said afresh now: Ponting and Iyer have made things right at PBKS in terms of players giving their best.
“We won’t look too far ahead. And that’s something Shreyas has sort of been big on: concentrating on what’s in front of us at the moment and just trying to concentrate on what we can control,” Connolly said of PBKS’ winning spree. “We’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing over the last sort of three to four weeks. And we’ll keep ticking along, we’ll keep trying to get better every session. And yeah, that’s all we can ask the group, just trying to get better every day. And I think that’s something we’ve been really good at so far, so looking forward to it.
“Obviously coming into it as my first year has been quite comforting. I think the group’s been together obviously last season and to join the group and to walk in and feel like I can be myself is always great. And I think that’s something that’s driven by Ponting. We’re just trying to be ourselves, [and] I guess we’ve all got the same goal. We obviously want to win the IPL.
“And yeah, I think Shreyas is obviously a great leader in the way he leads the group and the way he carries the group and the way he speaks to the group is, yeah, something else. He just leads by example. He’s always making this group feel comfortable around him and he’s always about just trying to get better and encouraging people and just making sure we do it with a smile on our face.”
The spot at the top of the table suggests it’s all working perfectly.
