Cooper Connolly, the Australia batting all-rounder viewed as one of the most fearless young prospects in the Punjab Kings (PBKS) camp, said he feels \u201cvery thankful\u201d for the encouragement he received from skipper Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting after an explosive start to the season. Connolly made an immediate impact in the IPL 2026, smashing an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls in his debut match as a No. 3 batter against the Gujarat Titans in New Chandigarh. His innings earned him the Player of the Match award and drew praise for his ability to steady the chase even after a brief middle-order wobble.<\/p>\n
That performance was followed by a further contribution of 36 runs against Chennai Super Kings, helping PBKS register a second straight win and continue their perfect start.<\/p>\n
Connolly, addressing questions during the JioStar Press Room session ahead of TATA IPL 2026 Rivalry Week, described the early momentum and the support structure around him. \u201cIt\u2019s been a nice start. Hopefully, we can keep winning and continue staying at the top of the ladder. I think it\u2019s a good place to be,\u201d he said. \u201cI spoke to Shreyas a little bit during the Australia vs India (ODI) series a couple of months back, and we just communicated and talked.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that watching Iyer has been a learning experience as he looks to grow within the league. \u201cI enjoy watching him. I enjoy learning from him. He\u2019s obviously said some nice words about me, but I\u2019m very thankful for that. He\u2019s a world-class player, but I\u2019ll just keep trying to learn and get better, and try to put my best foot forward for this team. Hopefully, I\u2019ll continue to earn the backing from a franchise like this,\u201d Connolly said.<\/p>\n
The 2026 season, for Connolly, is about contributing in every department and backing the team\u2019s direction. \u201cHopefully, get some wins\u2014whether it\u2019s with the bat, in the field, or with the ball. I\u2019m just looking to put my best foot forward and hoping for some team success,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
While Connolly has drawn admiration for his fearless approach, he admitted that stepping into his first IPL game came with nerves. \u201cI think when I was sitting there on the bench and getting ready to leave for the match, I was pretty nervous. That\u2019s probably where it all started,\u201d he explained. \u201cProbably in the morning when I woke up, I had a little bit of a feeling in my stomach\u2014just nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the pressure eased once he got going at the crease. \u201cBut being nervous is always a good thing. When I walked out to bat, I was obviously quite nervous, and then I slowly got into it. I guess the longer I was out there, the more comfortable I felt, and the more I tried to relax myself and play what\u2019s in front of me,\u201d Connolly said.<\/p>\n
Connolly is expected to bat as a specialist until the end of April, after a back issue affected his left-arm spin bowling responsibilities. He also spoke about how PBKS\u2019 team culture\u2014shaped and led by Iyer\u2014encourages younger players to express themselves without fear of making mistakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always nice with the sort of positive attitude that we have around the group. It\u2019s led by our skipper, Shreyas. He\u2019s always positive, and he\u2019s got this saying that I have a feeling that we know we\u2019re going to win, and it\u2019s not being arrogant or anything,\u201d Connolly said.<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cIt\u2019s just about being confident in this group and what this group can achieve. I think that\u2019s stuck with this team, and he is a bit of a leader. So a lot of people in this team follow him, and he sort of leads by example.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connolly concluded by highlighting Iyer\u2019s influence both on and off the field. \u201cEveryone likes to be around him because he\u2019s just a good person as well, both off the field and on the field. So he\u2019s someone that everyone wants to be around. I guess players want to play under him and do well for him because he deserves that credit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cooper Connolly, the Australia batting all-rounder viewed as one of the most fearless young prospects in the Punjab Kings (PBKS) camp, said he feels \u201cvery…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026: Connolly Thanks Iyer, Ponting After 72*","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"IPL 2026: Cooper Connolly opens up on Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting\u2019s support after his debut 72* for PBKS\u2014aiming higher in the season.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n