Though connolly

Indian Premier League: Regarded as one of the most fearless young batting prodigies in the Punjab Kings (PBKS) set-up, Australia batting all-rounder Cooper Connolly on Thursday said he is ‘very thankful’ for the glowing endorsement received from skipper Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting following his explosive start to the season.

Connolly lit up the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 by hitting an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls in his debut game as a number three batter against the Gujarat Titans in New Chandigarh to pick the Player of the Match award and earned plaudits for anchoring the chase despite a middle-order wobble.

It was followed by a knock of 36 against Chennai Super Kings, as PBKS made it two out of two wins. “It's been a nice start. Hopefully, we can continue winning and, yeah, continue staying at the top of the ladder. I think it's nice. I obviously spoke to Shreya a little bit during the Australia vs India (ODI) series a couple of months back, and we just communicated and spoke.