IPL 2021: Punjab Kings Coach, Anil Kumble Feels Shahrukh Khan Plays Like Kieron Pollard

The young batting sensation from Tamil Nadu has impressed everyone including Punjab coach, Anil Kumble. Read the article to know what Kumble said about the Tamil Nadu youngster.

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Punjab Kings bought Shahrukh Khan from Tamil Nadu in IPL Auctions 2021. He was bought for a whopping 5.25 crore by the Punjab Kings. Coming from Anil Kumble’s home state, this young man has managed to impress ‘Jumbo’ as well as others in the Punjab Kings side. Kumble has compared Shahrukh with the West Indies cricketer, Kieron Pollard who recently hit six sixes in one over in a T20I match. Kumble is the head coach of the Punjab Kings side and previously he was also the coach of Mumbai Indians; the side in which Kieron Pollard plays in. Thus, he drew parallels between Khan and Pollard due to his experience of working with both Pollard and Shahrukh Khan.

Anil Kumble said: “Yeah, 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 don't 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".

He said it in a video released by the Punjab Kings:

Shahrukh Khan came into limelight when he scored a match-winning 36-ball 55 runs for Tamil Nadu. He was noticeable in the Tamil Nadu Premier League as well. "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," said the cricketer in the video.

The 26-year old also remembered the time when he was watching the IPL Auctions. He said: "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.”

Dinesh Karthik, the captain of Tamil Nadu had shared a video of the team bus when Shahrukh Khan’s name came up in the IPL Auctions, 2021. Here is that video:

Will Shahrukh be able to make a mark in IPL 2021? Only time will tell.