Death overs batting, wickets in middle overs key areas of focus for Bayliss

New Punjab Kings head coach Trevor Bayliss has listed out death overs batting and wickets in the middle overs as the two key areas of improvement for the team aiming to end its title drought in the IPLPunjab finished an underwhelming sixth in the previous four editions with their only final appearance coming way back in 2014Bayliss a World Cup winning coach who also guided KKR to two IPL trophies is expected to turn an inconsistent Punjab into a consistent outfitThe squad looks strong on paper and boasts the likes of Shikhar Dhawan Kagiso Rabada Sam Curran Liam Livingstone and Arshdeep Singh Punjab had bought Curran for a record Rs 1850 crore at the auction earlier this yearAlso Read IPL 2023 Grit glory and grandeur A tournament like no otherSpeaking to PTI the 60yearold from Australia talked about the preparations for the IPL and his expectations from the playersOne of things that we thought was lacking last year was not able to finish off innings with the bat That was one of the reasons why we decided to go after a young allrounder like Sam He gives us a strength in the middleorder and he is a world class bowler as wellFrom the batting point of view we want some of the guys in the toporder to go on and make those 70s and 80s that makes it easier for the middle order he said from Mohali where the team hosts KKR in its IPL openerBayliss is working to create a pressurefree environment within the team as that is imperative for successI want them to play the game for the reasons they started playing the game at the first place which is the love for the game I dont know what it was like in the past but I will run this team like I have always doneIt doesnt guarantee success but we will enjoy ourselves and play with a smile on our face but when we need to we will do the hard yards in the practice fieldHaving achieved success in international as well as franchise cricket Bayliss believes the main players have to perform for any team to be consistentI am not exactly sure if I can pin point one thing he said when asked about the secret to success in an unforgiving format like the T20From bowling point of view if you are taking wickets through the middle overs you are very tough to beat Taking wickets in middle overs is very importantIn this day and age teams bat deep across the board What you need is your main players scoring runs and taking wicketsHow do you achieve that To be in a good frame of mind playing under less pressure and not be under pressure to perform From my point of view it is about creating an environment that takes the pressure off all the players he saidVery tough to beat someone like JonnyUncapped Australian Matthew Short has replaced the injured Bairstow in the Punjab squad and he is one of the opening options for the team alongside DhawanWe have got a coupe of options but not giving any secrets away You have to wait for the first game We got Matthew Short who was outstanding in the Big Bash We got some local talent here as wellHaving said that it is very hard to replace someone like JonnyBarring Rabada who will be available from the second game onwards all other foreign players are available for the KKR gameNo reason Dhawan cant make India comebackThe 37yearold opener who captained India as recently as November finds himself out of the Indian ODI setup With Shubman Gill excelling at the top it would be extremely tough to stage a comeback but Bayliss feels the India veteran still canHe is very well respected by the young players in the team He is a very positive influence on the team and will do a fantastic jobOn his international comeback Bayliss added There is no reason he cant Playing at the top level first thing is you need is to be in form and scoring runsHopefully from our point of view he scores a truckload of runs in the next few months and force his way back in and that would be great for us and great for India as wellIn Rabada Curran and Arshdeep Singh the team has pace options which can be used in any stage of the inningsHaving become the costliest buy in IPL history it would be natural for Curran to feel the pressure of his whopping price tagHowever Bayliss is confident about Curran delivering for PunjabI know him from England days He is very level headed He and his brother Tom are not afraid to bowl the last over They always want the ball in their hand It wont be any different hereToo much franchise cricket taking place ICC needs to handle itNew T20 leagues popping up with each passing season has made the cricketing calendar more hectic than ever Players are being forced to choose formats notably Ben Stokes and to Bayliss it doesnt come as a surpriseThere is a lot of franchise cricket around the world which is probably bit too much The ICC needs to make sure they have got a handle on the amount of T20 cricket being playedThat is where a lot of money is made for cricket to operate all round the world but it will be a shame to lose Test cricket or even ODIs to be honestIndia England and Australia play more than any other international team They have had separate teams for red ball and white ball format in the last year or two Some of the best players are not playing one format or the other said BaylissFor Bazball to work you need naturally aggressive battersEngland have redefined the way Test cricket is played with their uberaggressive batting approach They have set the benchmark but Bayliss said other teams trying to play like England will only succeed if they have naturals like Stokes side possessesFirstly you got to have the right players in the team it bazball is a natural approach It has to be their natural game England have these type of players If you dont have those players and you try to play in that fashion it is not going to work he addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday 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