Cooper Connolly came into IPL 2026 as a bit of an unknown, much like his hero Shaun Marsh was in 2008.
And much like Marsh did then, also for Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab then), Connolly has been his team's most consistent run-scorer. Marsh won the Orange Cap then, and while Connolly is some distance from that, in a batting line-up where the likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya and Shreyas Iyer have made headlines, Connolly has been making a lot of noise.
After his 107 not out in 59 balls failed to take PBKS over the line against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) - the big three mentioned above tallied 9 in 12 balls between them - Sairaj Bahutule, the PBKS spin-bowling coach, noted that Connolly played a huge role in ensuring PBKS got more runs than they might have, and that will help the team in terms of the net run-rate later on.
"He is somebody who's very positive and he's a great potential," Bahutule said in the press conference. "Definitely he'll play a long period for Australia. He's a very good allrounder in the making, fabulous fielder. And he's got a good head on his shoulders."