Kolkata:

Punjab Kings (PBKS) have struggled against spinners in the last few games. They were bowled out for 111 at their home ground in Mullanpur by KKR earlier this season, and later they failed to counter attack Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) spinners Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya in their previous outing. Hence, Kotian's addition looks like more of a tactical decision considering KKR skipper having said that they need spin friendly pitches where their mystery spinners like Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy will get some purchase.

Tanush Kotian, Mumbai all-rounder, has joined Punjab Kings (PBKS) as a net bowler ahead of their game against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the iconic Eden Gardens here on Saturday, April 26. Notably, Kotian was unsold in the IPL auction that happened last year. He was spotted bowling to PBKS's batters during their training session on Friday, where he also engaged in in-depth conversations with PBKS's spin-bowling coach, Sunil Joshi.

Punjab don't have many spinners in their squad and the lone off-spin bowler is Glenn Maxwell. Hence, bringing in Kotian will help their batters to prepare for the spin threat. The 26-year-old had already received maiden India Test call up after veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin retired from all formats of cricket. He played an instrumental role in leading Shreyas Iyer-led Mumbai to Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy triumph earlier this domestic season. His experience and variety as an orthodox off-spinner provide PBKS with a different spin option.

After nearly ten days after that historic encounter where PBKS successfully defended a lowest 111-run total in the history of the IPL against KKR. Interestingly, in IPL 2024, they pulled off a record-breaking chase of 262, the highest-ever successful run chase in the tournament's history against the same opposition at Eden Gardens.

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