New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) Australia’s batting all-rounder Cooper Connolly is available and ready to feature for Punjab Kings in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash against Delhi Capitals on Saturday afternoon, confirmed spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule.

As previously reported by IANS, Connolly had briefly returned to his hometown, Perth, to undergo scans on his back after injury prevented him from bowling left-arm spin in IPL 2026. Connolly has since rejoined the squad and is available to play, though it’s yet to be known if he will still play as a specialist batter for PBKS, the lone unbeaten side in the competition.

“Yes, he is very much available. So, he had to go back and report to his state team. He just went there, and he has come back. So, he is very much ready and raring to go because I think he is somebody who’s in his first year in IPL and first year in Indian conditions.

“He has responded really well, and he is a great kid. He has done well in the under-19 levels and played in the Big Bash League. He is definitely a player who is looking forward to every game and is very keen to perform for the side,” Bahutule told reporters on the eve of the match.

Bahutule also lavished praise on explosive left-handed opener Priyansh Arya, who has lit up IPL 2026 yet again with his audacious hitting. “He had a fabulous season last year as well. I think he is somebody who must have gone during the off-season playing domestic cricket for Delhi and understood a few things where he needs to improve, and that’s what he has got better at.

“He has come back and understood that this is what I need to improve for the second season. Yes, challenges are there in the second season. But it doesn’t look like he has left off from the way he was playing last year.

“He is a very calm and composed cricketer and has very good shoulders. He doesn’t get fazed by success or failure. He is very well-balanced, and I think in the coming future, he will be a great prospect to be playing for the country,” he added.

On the spin-bowling front, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has so far shouldered the slow bowling workload as the sole specialist spinner in PBKS’s playing eleven. However, Bahutule indicated that Harpreet Brar, who has done well for PBKS whenever given a chance, remains firmly in their plans.

“I am sure he has also been considered. But again, we will have to look at the pitch again today, how it is tomorrow, and at some stage, and then take a call on things. Yes, Yuzi has actually taken all the pressure as the lone spinner because he is also aware that, being that lone spinner, the opposition will always look to target him.

“But with his experience and with his guile, he can execute his skills brilliantly. Harpreet is a fabulous bowler. He has been bowling exceedingly well from the domestic season to getting into the IPL. He is in a very good frame of mind. He is very keen and eager to play, too.

“But sometimes, the combination and you have to take certain decisions which are favourable for that particular pitch and that particular opposition. Yes, definitely, he is in the scheme of things, and we will take a call tomorrow, and hopefully, he can get a game,” he added.

With the match scheduled to be played in the afternoon, temperatures are expected to be very high, leading to cramps affecting players being a strong possibility. Asked about how the team, particularly the overseas contingent, was preparing to cope with the scorching Delhi heat, Bahutule said, “Again, IPL has been there for so many years. Overseas players are also aware of it. I think they start the preparation at least a day before, in terms of hydration.

“We have a fabulous medical team that looks after all that is needed for them to get really fit for tomorrow’s game. We have a nutritionist, also. So, we prepare them not only on the day of the game but also the day before.

“That is the reason why they are well-equipped when they respond. Yes, but sometimes it can be that the heat is too much, or the conditions can get worse. But overall, they are very well-equipped for it,” he signed off.

–IANS

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