At a glance:
- Punjab Kings assistant coach Brad Haddin admitted the team has struggled to handle pressure during their recent losing streak.
- Haddin said PBKS must win their remaining two league matches to keep their playoff hopes alive.
- PBKS will now face RCB in a must-win clash at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
Punjab was leading the IPL points standings after winning six of their first seven games. They now need to win their next two games to advance to the final four, even though it appeared like they would finish in the top two.
Haddin gave a straightforward response when asked what went wrong with the team in the previous several games. Pressure has been too much for Punjab to handle. According to the PBKS assistant coach Brad Haddin, his team will have to work hard to end its losing streak.
“We just haven’t been able to handle the pressure in the last few defeats. We haven’t played our best cricket when we needed to, which has been disappointing.
“We’re as disappointed as you guys with the way we started the tournament and where we are now. But the one thing that comes out of it is that we’ve got to find a way to get out of it. There’s no hiding from the fact that we’ve got to play better.
“There are good things we’re doing and things we need to continue to work on, but the key thing is we’ve got two games left, and we have to find a way. There’s no tomorrow now. We have to win our remaining games. It’s as simple as that,” said Haddin.
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Punjab Kings must ignore outside noise and focus on winning
After the Punjab Kings’ most recent defeat against the Mumbai Indians, assistant coach Brad Haddin has downplayed claims that the squad is being impacted by the noise off the field. With the other teams chasing them, PBKS is finding it difficult to maintain a top-four position after suffering their fifth straight defeat.
Punjab has been plagued by a number of disputes and rumours regarding its players off the field. After the Yuzvendra Chahal vaping controversy, there was discussion about Prabhsimran Singh’s fitness. After the incident, PBKS and owner Preity Zinta criticised people for spreading false stories about the team.
The most recent being the incident involving Arshdeep Singh and Tilak Varma, in which the pacer was charged for insulting the Mumbai batter. However, Haddin doesn’t think Punjab has had any problems with this.
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The PBKS assistant coach told the media following the team’s defeat to Mumbai that the team is just concerned with breaking their losing run and isn’t paying attention to outside noise.
According to Haddin, players must learn to cope with the internet gossip that comes with being a professional athlete.
“No, the dressing room’s been good. I’m not really up with social media, so I don’t know the situation there, but inside the camp, we’ve just got to find a way to win a cricket game.
“Whatever the external noise is, that’s part of playing professional sport. It’s not always just about the field — you’ve got to deal with everything outside it and make sure that when you cross that line, you’re in the right headspace to play,” said Haddin.
The next match between PBKS and RCB will take place at Dharamsala, and this game will be a must-win for PBKS to stay alive in the playoff race.
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