Cooper Connolly of Australia reacts during the 2nd ODI match between Australia and India at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, on October 23, 2025. (CREIMAS for BCCI)
Australia’s Cooper Connolly who was snapped up by the Punjab Kings in the recent IPL mini auction said that he is willing to bat at any position that will suit the team when he makes his maiden Indian Premier League appearance next year.
“I like to model my game on being able to be versatile in any position. So whether that’s at three, whether that’s in the middle, I’m happy to perform any role,” Connolly said at a virtual media interaction on Monday.
“I feel like I’m still learning the role at number three for the (Perth) Scorchers. It’s a role I enjoy. But if the role in the IPL is different, that’s totally understandable because it’s a world class team. To just be in the middle order would be sort of a nice opportunity just to sort of knuckle down and get to work in the middle order,” he added.
The 22-year-old has scored two fifties from the No.3 position for the Scorchers and is one of te most promising young players from Australia, having made his T20I and ODI debuts in September last year before earning his Baggy Green in January.
“I think over the last three years, it’s been about understanding how different the international level is. It’s about adjusting to that, understanding how bowlers are trying to get me out more and how I can counter that. I’ve had to earn the right to be in the Australian set-up. So it’s about learning from guys like Travis Head, Steve Smith, how they go about it and how they sort of train to all those standards.” “I’m just trying to tweak my game slowly and add more strings to it as I move forward,” he said.
The player who was bought by the Kings for 3 crore also said that he was looking forward to working with Australia legend Ricky Ponting.
“I’ve heard a lot of good things about him. I haven’t done a lot of work with him just yet. So, I’m looking forward to spending some time with him and sort of doing some tweaks to my batting and seeing what his thoughts are on it,” he said.