Punjab Kings’ Skipper KL Rahul admitted that he’s looking forward to Riley Meredith intimidating batsmen with his sheer pace
Punjab Kings had a good time in the 2021 Auction of the Indian Premier League when they bought plenty of quality players and bolstered their side for the IPL 2021. PBKS acquired the services of Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Shahrukh Khan and Fabian Allen, among others.
The Skipper of Punjab Kings, KL Rahul is particularly excited to see Riley Meredith bowl proper pace and intimidate the opposition batsmen. Rahul believes that this was the factor his team has been missing for years. Meredith, who PBKS bought for eight crores in the auction, will join a pace attack comprising Jhye Richardson, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Ishan Porel.
“I’m really looking forward to watching Riley Meredith bowl. I watched him in a couple of games in New Zealand; he could bowl some proper pace, that’s something that I’ve felt we were missing for three or four seasons that I’ve been with the Kings…someone with sheer pace, someone who can intimidate the opposition. So I’m looking forward to watching him bowl from behind the stumps.”
Rahul admitted on Red Bull’s podcast Decoding Athletes.
The Australian pace sensation can clock 150kmph and hurry the batsmen. Meredith was mighty impressive in the Big Bash League 2020-21, picking up 16 wickets at an economy rate of 7.81. On the back of that season performance, Meredith got his opportunity in the T20I series against New Zealand, in which he made Kane Williamson look like a mediocre batsman, dismissing him twice in three innings.
Punjab Kings, who have been one of the worst bowling sides in IPL for the last few years, tried to plug the holes by bringing in two Aussie pacemen. For years, Mumbai Indians have played with ‘two overseas pacers’ strategy and have tasted enormous success with it. In the last edition of the IPL, Delhi Capitals deployed a similar strategy and played with Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, both of whom played a major role in taking DC to the finals. It will be interesting to see if Punjab Kings can emulate these teams and play with both Richardson and Meredith.
The PBKS captain, KL Rahul was the top run-getter in the 2020 IPL but his team failed to make the playoffs as they lost few close matches. PBKS finished at the sixth position with 12 points, only 2 points behind the number three and four, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“I generally believe that we were a tad bit unlucky last time. We did play some really good cricket. A couple of games we really couldn’t close for different reasons. It did hurt a little, but I’m hoping that the change of name, change of jersey – there’s been a whole lot of changes – can bring us some good fortune,” KL Rahul added.
Rahul had gone through a rough patch in the recent T20I series against England. He returned with the scores of 14, 0, 0, 1 in the first four matches and was dropped from the fifth. However he was backed in the One Day series that followed and played in the middle order where he had done well. Rahul returned to the form with an unbeaten 62 and 108 in the three-match series.
Speaking about how he got through this difficult phase, Rahul said:
“I won’t lie, it does get to you sometimes, and it’s hard sometimes. Especially in the last [T20I] series when I wasn’t getting runs after having done well for a couple of years, and then a few bad performances and there are questions being raised and a lot of talk outside, it does get to you sometimes. But again you try and go back to the basics and try and find a way to enjoy the process. And I’ve always been somebody who’s tried to remain balanced in whatever the game gives me.”
Punjab Kings will start their campaign for IPL 2021 with the match against Rajasthan Royals at Wankhede Stadium on Monday, April 12th.
