Australia's selection chief George Bailey has credited Cooper Connolly's remarkable return to form in the Indian Premier League to technical adjustments made during a brief hiatus from the game.
Connolly's IPL Resurgence
The 22-year-old Western Australian all-rounder struggled badly at the back end of the Big Bash League season with the Perth Scorchers and during the T20 World Cup for the national side. However, he has excelled in his debut IPL campaign with the Ricky Ponting-coached Punjab Kings.
Connolly became the youngest overseas player to score a century in the competition, smashing an unbeaten 107 off just 59 balls against the Pat Cummins and Travis Head-led Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has also posted two half-centuries, amassing 377 runs in the tournament.
Technical Adjustments Pay Off
Speaking after unveiling Australia's ODI and T20 squads for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh in June, which includes Connolly, Bailey expressed delight at the youngster's performances in the world's most competitive T20 league.
“It’s been fantastic. He’s had a good run at it over there,” Bailey said. “He’s not back to the bowling crease yet, so I think that’s really allowed him to focus on the batting side of things.”
Bailey added: “Chatting to him, he was going from playing to playing to playing a lot. He just had a brief moment towards the back end of last season when he was able to find a small window to work on a couple of things technically. That certainly seems to be paying off.”
“No doubt, the performance is one thing, but just the confidence and growth and learning he’ll get out of the IPL will be massive as well,” Bailey said.
Squad Selection and Future Plans
Connolly was not picked for the three-match ODI series against Pakistan that precedes the Bangladesh tour, but Bailey said IPL commitments were considered when selecting that squad. The Punjab Kings, after spending much of the season atop the ladder, have slipped to fourth place following three consecutive losses.
Veteran all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, both from Western Australia, were omitted from the T20 squad for Bangladesh. Despite their status as stalwarts in recent years, Bailey indicated their international careers are not over.
“I wouldn’t call it dropped, per se, but I understand they’re not within the squad,” Bailey said. “Just given where we are in the cycle of T20s and on the back of our World Cup result, it’s a good opportunity to have a look at some different players. It’s a really important period of time for that T20 group to develop different players in different roles.”
Bailey emphasised that every squad selected is expected to win and perform. “I’m not taking away from the fact every time we take a team and squad away, our expectation is we will win and those players will perform,” he concluded.
