Punjab Kings will reassess field setups with a ‘right man right place’ approach, says coach Bahutule

Dropped catches, a missed stumping and costly reprieves for Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan ultimately proved decisive in Punjab Kings’ 33-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday. Reflecting on the lapses, PBKS spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said the team would reassess its field setups with a ‘right place, right man’ approach.

“Fielding under lights is not easy because the ball comes out from the lights as well as from the crowd. And you know, the higher it goes, obviously, it’s going to fall as quickly as possible, and gravity will obviously take its toll.

“It’s important that we go back and reflect on things. You cannot pick one and say, ‘This is the guy who’s been doing it,’ because the values created by Ricky (Head Coach Ricky Ponting) are that we support each other and back each other.”

He also suggested the errors may have stemmed from mounting mental pressure.

“Sometimes a player is not getting run, a bowler might be getting hit and players might drop catches. These can create doubts in the mind about whether they’re being too anxious or allowing (pressure) to creep in.”

Bahutule heaped praise on Cooper Connolly for his blistering, unbeaten century.

“He is very positive and has great potential. He’ll definitely play for a long period for Australia, a good all-rounder in the making, and a fabulous fielder with a good head on his shoulders. We knew at some stage [today that] it was a losing cause, but he just made sure that the momentum is on and saw how we can get closer to the total. Things like these also help us in our net run-rate.”