Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has been left supremely impressed by the high quality of kids in the Punjab Kings squad in addition to the Indian T20 arrange on the sidlelines of the IPL.
After the retirement of stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, the depth of Indian cricket has ensured that T20 staff has constructed on the success of the 2024 T20 World Cup courtesy the likes of Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma.
At Punjab Kings camp, rookies like opener Priyansh Arya have already made a mark regardless that it’s early days in the IPL.
“There’s great depth here (in Indian cricket). There always has been. And I think they’re getting the chance to show their skills on a world stage,” Stoinis informed PTI.
“They are super confident. They’ve had almost the advantage of growing up with IPL, being under pressure from early stages in their career. It’s brilliant to see how fearless they are with their cricket and especially (while playing for) Indian cricket (team).
“Some of the youngsters in the Punjab Kings camp who have never really played the IPL are very impressive,” mentioned the 35-year-old.
Stoinis returns to the franchise after nearly a decade and is happy to work compatriot and head coach Ricky Ponting.
“A lot of Aussie boys here, which is nice for me. So it does feel at home,” he mentioned referring to the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie and Josh Inglis.
“It was my second year in the IPL that I moved to here. So yeah, it’s all familiar. I love the IPL. It’s a mainstay in the calendar. It’s something we all look forward to and personally I look forward to. I’s exciting to have the opportunity to bring some success to this franchise,” mentioned the Perth primarily based cricketer.
Stoinis and Kohli
Stoinis’ reference to Virat Kohli goes again to their U-19 days when the Indian led his staff to the World Cup title in 2008.
Stoinis mentioned he stays in contact with the Indian famous person and has loved monitoring his outstanding profession.
“We’ve known each other for a long time. We’ve got a mutual friend in Perth that has known him for a long time as well. So that’s sort of how that relationship started. But yeah, what a great career it’s been so far. It’s definitely not finished. It seems like he’s worn a few caps throughout his career in terms of being the young guy coming into an Indian team that forced his way in there at such a young age and showed such confidence in himself to crack into such a good team to then leading the team and almost changing the whole culture of Indian cricket and inspiring a lot of the young cricketers around India and around the world” he mentioned.
“And then a whole new phase of the fitness side of things as well that he inspired in the Indian set-up to now mentoring the new kids on the block. And he’s got his family now as well. I think all of those phases have served a purpose, not only for himself, but as a mentor for the wider public and the cricket community. So always hats off to him, to be honest,” added Stoinis.
Published – March 27, 2025 05:23 am IST
