Ahead of the Punjab Kings’ upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh, on Sunday, fast bowling coach James Hopes opined on the team’s momentum. Reflecting on the recent win in Mumbai, Hopes praised the captain Shreyas Iyer, the resilience of the squad’s bowling unit and the mature performances by young talents as well.

Hopes said, “I can’t say enough about Shreyas. I worked with him when he was very young in this league and he’s just grown and he’s grown over the years to become the player he is and the captain he is. Captaincy hasn’t affected his batting, to be honest, I think the captaincy improves batting. He’s gone from strength to strength.”

“I think once he finds his way back in the Indian team, you’ll see the batter that he’s going to be for the rest of his career, which is obviously a world-class short-form batter and someone that could fit into long-form cricket pretty easily,” he further added.

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Hopes also discussed for pacer Arshdeep Singh, who, despite a slow start to the season, returned to form in the last game as well.

“He’s a world-class T20 bowler, one-day bowler, and I don’t think there was ever any panic. I think he just thinks in his head that he’s really struggling. We just keep reminding him that it’s not a real struggle. This is just what happens when you play for long enough. You go through these ups and downs and he came off a World Cup win and I think there’s going to be a natural little letdown after that, but he was really up for the Mumbai game,” he shared again.

While talking about the team’s uncapped talent, Hopes commented, “To start with the opening pair, I actually don’t think they realise how good they actually are. I’ve never seen an uncapped player do what Priyansh has done since his first game; he looks like an even better player this year. As for boys like Nehal and Shashank in the middle, they haven’t been required to do much yet because of how well our top order is playing. They are doing their jobs with little cameos, but I’m sure they will step up when they are needed in the coming games.”

“We had a huge win in Mumbai the other night against a pretty good team in hostile conditions but we aren’t taking it for granted. The boys are back at training and back at work, getting ready for what we consider a dangerous team (LSG). They have got players like Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, who can take the game away from you real quick,” James Hopes concluded.

Punjab Kings will next take on Lucknow Super Giants at the New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh, on April 19 at 7:30 pm as well.