Is this a Coincidence or Is Cooper Connolly the next Shaun Marsh of Punjab Kings?

no image

ByAnupam Pandey, SportsCafe Editor

12

For the Punjab Kings in IPL 2026, Cooper Connolly has been a massive addition to their squad and in 9 matches, he has scored 377 runs at an average of 53.85 with a strike rate of 171.36, repeating what Shaun Marsh had done for the Punjab Kings in his initial years.

In IPL 2008, Punjab Kings included a young Shaun Marsh in the squad who went on to become the leading run scorer for the team in the season along with winning the Orange Cap. In 11 matches played, he scored 616 runs at an average of 68.44 along with a strike rate of 139.68. In the same season, he scored 5 half-centuries and a century which allowed Punjab Kings to reach the playoffs in that season. 

Just like Shaun Marsh, Punjab Kings managed to buy Australia’s Cooper Connolly for INR 3 Crore and allowed him to play at number 3. Till the 49th match of the IPL 2026, he has scored 377 runs in 9 innings at an average of 53.85 and a strike rate of 171.36. He has scored 2 half-centuries along with a century for the team. 

Fun Facts:

  1. Both Cooper Connolly and Shaun Marsh scored their first IPL century in their 10th match for the Punjab Kings. Shaun Marsh scored 115 runs off 69 balls against Rajasthan Royals while Cooper Connolly scored 107 runs off 59 balls.
  2. In his debut for Punjab Kings, Shaun Marsh scored 84* runs while chasing a target of 160+ runs and won the match while Connolly scored 72* in his debut for Punjab while chasing 160+ runs and won the match. Interestingly, Cooper Connolly idolizes Shaun Marsh in cricket.

Our Take:

Being an Australian and playing for the Punjab Kings, Cooper Connolly will be hoping for an impactful performance in the remaining matches. He will be eying to replicate the performance of Shaun Marsh in the first season of the IPL for Punjab Kings while keeping an eye on the IPL trophy too.

read previousWho Will Lead MI Against PBKS? Major Update Emerges
Mumbai Indians will be going against Punjab Kings tonight at Dharamshala. But this game could bring down another captaincy change for the team. According to the reports, neither Hardik Pandya nor Suryakumar Yadav are available to play for the team.
When Virat Kohli Batted All 20 Overs But Still Couldnt Chase the Targetread next
Virat Kohli is known as the chase master, who could chase down any target with ease. But there has been one rare IPL game, where even the chase master failed. Even after batting from the start till the end, he was not able to chase down the total against Mumbai Indians in 2018.

You may also like

View non-AMP page