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Punjab Kings are all set for their sixth game in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, and the Shikhar Dhawan-led franchise will face off against the in-form Rajasthan Royals at the new PCA Stadium, Mullanpur on Saturday. The cracking contest will be a chance for the Kings to get a big win over a franchise who have maintained the top position in the points table for most of the season so far.
Ahead of the encounter, Punjab Kings fast bowling coach Charl Langeveldt opened up on the team’s strategies behind finalising the playing squad ahead of important matches. Langeveldt explained the factors that can lead to the franchise making changes in their line-up.
“You want to give everyone a fair chance. It has been five games. The first thing you look at is if the guys in the squad can improve. Secondly, we will make the changes and play according to the conditions and the opposition. But if the guys are not doing well, we obviously would look to change that,” he said.
South African speedster Kagiso Rabada bowled brilliantly against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the powerplay overs earlier this week and finished the game with figures of 32/1. The right-arm bowler has so far taken 7 wickets in 5 games at an average of 24.71 and Langeveldt said that Rabada’s positive mindset has been a big factor in Punjab’s improving bowling performance.
“We are very happy with our bowling performance. You always want to improve in the powerplay and you always want to get wickets. With the impact player rules, there are now eight batters, so sometimes you will leak runs. In the last game, we were brilliant and Kagiso Rabada set the tone with his first over,” he said.
“Rabada is always wanting to take more wickets. The other night he started well and he has a very positive mindset. He is starting to showcase his intensity with the new ball,” the former South African international added.
Langeveldt also praised rising stars Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma who have been the highlight with the bat for the past two games.
“Both Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma have been brilliant. Everyone on the team is so happy for them and what they have achieved. They have stepped up to the plate. Hopefully, they can kick on and have a great season. They have been awesome and everyone in the dressing room has appreciated the efforts and the commitments the two have shown to the team,” he said.
On being asked about the conversations Punjab Kings head of cricket development Sanjay Bangar has been having with the top-order, Langeveldt revealed that the team is working on improving with the bat in the powerplay overs.
“I think Sanjay is spending a lot of time with the batters. We always want to improve in all the departments – we always want to do 5 percent better in all areas in each game. And we always want to perform even better in the powerplay overs. So, that is what we have been working on,” he signed off.
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