Both Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma have been Punjab Kings’ finds in the ongoing IPL 2024.

Mullanpur: Punjab Kings bowling coach Charl Langeveldt was in awe of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma who have been the highlight with the bat for the past two games in the ongoing IPL 2024. Shashank and Ashutosh came into the limelight when the duo helped the Shikhar Dhawan-led side clinched a thriller against Gujarat Titans.

The Indian pair was once again in against Sunrisers Hyderabad with an unbeaten 66-run stand in just 27 balls, pulling Punjab Kings closer to victory before losing by a narrow two runs. “Both Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma have been brilliant,” Langeveldt said on the eve of their game against Rajasthan Royals.

“Everyone on the team is so happy for them and what they have achieved. They have stepped up to the plate. Hopefully, they can kick on and have a great season. They have been awesome and everyone in the dressing room has appreciated the efforts and the commitments the two have shown to the team,” added the former South African pacer.

With just two wins in the pocket from five games, Punjab Kings stand eighth in the points table. Ahead of the clash against the table-toppers Langeveldt opened up on the team’s strategies and explained the factors that can lead to the team making changes in their line-up.

“You want to give everyone a fair chance. It has been five games. The first thing you look at is if the guys in the squad can improve. Secondly, we will make the changes and play according to the conditions and the opposition. But if the guys are not doing well, we obviously would look to change that,” he said.

Meanwhile, the South African speedster Kagiso Rabada bowled brilliantly against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the powerplay overs earlier this week and finished the game with figures of 32/1. The right-arm bowler has so far taken seven wickets in five games at an average of 24.71 and Langeveldt said that Rabada’s positive mindset has been a big factor in Punjab’s improving bowling performance.

“We are very happy with our bowling performance. You always want to improve in the powerplay and you always want to get wickets. With the impact player rules, there are now eight batters, so sometimes you will leak runs. In the last game, we were brilliant and Kagiso Rabada set the tone with his first over,” he said.

“Rabada is always wanting to take more wickets. The other night he started well and he has a very positive mindset. He is starting to showcase his intensity with the new ball,” the former South African international added.

On being asked about the conversations Punjab Kings Head of Cricket Development, Sanjay Bangar, has been having with the top-order, Langeveldt revealed that the team is working on improving with the bat in the powerplay overs.

“I think Sanjay is spending a lot of time with the batters. We always want to improve in all the departments – we always want to do 5 percent better in all areas in each game. And we always want to perform even better in the powerplay overs. So, that is what we have been working on,” he signed off.