Punjab Kings’ newly-appointed head coach Trevor Bayliss feels death overs batting and wickets in the middle overs are the two areas of concern for the team looking to end its title drought in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
In the previous four editions, the Punjab-based franchise finished at the sixth position with their only final appearance coming way back in 2014.
“One of things that we thought was lacking last year was not able to finish off innings with the bat. That was one of the reasons why we decided to go after a young all-rounder like Sam. He gives us a strength in the middle-order and he is a world class bowler as well.
“From the batting point of view, we want some of the guys in the top-order to go on and make those 70s and 80s, that makes it easier for the middle order,” Bayliss told PTI in an exclusive chat.
Bayliss is working to create a pressure-free environment within the set-up as that is essential for success.
“I want them to play the game for the reasons they started playing the game at the first place, which is the love for the game. I don’t know what it was like in the past but I will run this team like I have always done.
“It doesn’t guarantee success but we will enjoy ourselves and play with a smile on our face but when we need to we will do the hard yards in the practice field.”
The 60-year-old has an impressive CV as a coach, having guided England to their maiden ODI World Cup title in 2019. He also has experience of coaching in the IPL and was most recently associated with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Under him, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.
“I am not exactly sure if I can pin point one thing,” Bayliss said when asked about the secret to success in an unforgiving format like the T20.
“From bowling point of view if you are taking wickets through the middle overs you are very tough to beat. Taking wickets in middle overs is very important.
“In this day and age, teams bat deep across the board. What you need is your main players scoring runs and taking wickets.
“How do you achieve that? To be in a good frame of mind, playing under less pressure and not be under pressure to perform. From my point of view it is about creating an environment that takes the pressure off all the players,” he added.
PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan lost his place in the Indian ODI team to Shubman Gill. With Gill doing well at the top, it would be extremely tough for Dhawan to stage a comeback but Bayliss feels the southpaw still can.
“He is very well respected by the young players in the team. He is a very positive influence on the team and will do a fantastic job.”
“There is no reason he can’t. Playing at the top level first thing is you need is to be in form and scoring runs. Hopefully from our point of view he scores a truckload of runs in the next few months and force his way back in and that would be great for us and great for India as well.”
With the window for T20 leagues keeps getting longer, top players are finding it hard to manage their workloads. Last year, England all-rounder Ben Stokes called time on his 50-over career, citing that it was "unsustainable" for him to play all three formats amid a busy schedule.
Bayliss feels too much franchise cricket is taking place around the world and urged the ICC to look into it.
“There is a lot of franchise cricket around the world which is probably bit too much. The ICC needs to make sure they have got a handle on the amount of T20 cricket being played.
“That is where a lot of money is made for cricket to operate all round the world but it will be a shame to lose Test cricket or even ODIs to be honest.
“India, England and Australia play more than any other international team. They have had separate teams for red ball and white ball format in the last year or two. Some of the best players are not playing one format or the other,” he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
