Shahrukh Khan reminds me a bit of Kieron Pollard: Anil Kumble
As Shahrukh Khan gears up for his first-ever IPL season, he has received a big compliment from his Punjab Kings coach Anil Kumble. The former India skipper looks mighty impressed with Shahrukh’s power-hitting skills and compared him with West Indies star Kieron Pollard, one of the best power-hitters in the history of the T20s.
Shahrukh had gone unsold in IPL 2020 auction but finally got his maiden contract this year after impressing with his power-hitting in the domestic circuit. Just before the auction, he played a key role in Tamil Nadu’s victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The performances landed him a lucrative contract of INR 5 crore from Punjab Kings.
Shahrukh will be keen to show his skills in the upcoming IPL 2021. And Kumble has already made it all but clear that the team management will back the batsman by lavishing praise on him. Kumble recalled his experience of bowling to Pollard in the Mumbai Indians (MI) nets and said that Shahrukh brings a similar skillset to the table.
“He reminds me a bit of Pollard actually. When I was with Mumbai Indians, Pollard in the nets was dangerous. I used to bowl a bit (in the nets), and the first thing I used to tell him was not to hit straight. Here I’m not even trying. I’m a lot older now, and the body doesn’t take the bowling anymore. So, I’m not going to bowl at Shahrukh, for sure,” said Kumble in a video posted by the franchise on Twitter.
It feels amazing to be here, says Shahrukh Khan
In the same video, Shahrukh Khan also shared his experience of the auction and joining the Punjab Kings team. The Tamil Nadu ace stated that he was pleasantly surprised that there was a bidding war to secure his services in the auction. Shahrukh had registered his name in the auction at the lowest base price of Rs 20 lakh. He further stated that it is an amazing experience to be among the Punjab Kings stalwarts.
“The auction started at around 3 PM I guess, and we were practicing at the Holkar Stadium, obviously I had to bat and bowl a bit. So I told our physio that ‘please let me know when my name comes up. I’ll take a break and come and see the auction.’ Luckily my name didn’t come up, and it didn’t bother my batting much. Right after we finished practice and we hopped onto the bus, I still remember sitting on the first seat and my name came up. My heart started pumping, but I didn’t expect it to rise as much as it did,” Shahrukh Khan said.
“Being amongst such stalwarts of cricket, it feels amazing to be here and the inputs have been great. I have been having a lot of conversations with everyone around here, getting to learn a lot as well,” he added.
“He reminds me a bit of Pollard!” ?
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— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 4, 2021
