The Punjab Kings (PBKS) are all set to return to action after a week long break, facing Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on May 18 at 3:30 PM. Where PBKS are standing at the third spot on the points table with high chances of qualifications, RR is ninth position who are currently out from the race of qualifications. Ahead of this clash, PBKS fast bowling coach James Hopes expressed his full confidence on this team’s preparation and mindset.
“It feels like we did not miss a beat.” – James Hopes
Talking to the media in a pre-match press conference, Hopes shared that the break has had positive impact on the players.“I think there was some concern about how the team was going to come back together. But the way we have trained the last few days, it feels like we did not miss a beat. And if anything, the guys came back a little bit fresher from being able to spend a couple of days at home,” he said.
When asked about the change in strategic move after the break, Hopes respond, “I think we will go in with a pretty similar structure. Even if there are some different players in those roles, the way we are going to play is going to be very similar… It was an unexpected break, but we are trying to look at the flip side of it.”
He also praised the fearless nature of young Indian talentacross teams, including PBKS. “The young Indian players, at the moment, do not fear anything. They are almost scarier to play against because you don’t have a lot of information on them to start off with, and they come out with zero fear,” Hopes said. “We have seen it with a few teams this tournament, including us, that with playing some young players, they are dominating the tournament.”
Looking ahead to playing at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Hopes acknowledge the challenge of changing conditions but he backed the teams adaptability. “We are heavily favouredtowards pace, but we do have some spinners in our squad that we’re more than willing to play if the pitch offers that. We are very confident in the depth we’ve got. We tried to put together a squad that could play in all different conditions,” he concluded.
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