"He is someone who seems good at moving on"- Nathan Ellis on PBKS teammate Arshdeep Singh's 'huge asset' amidst IPL 2024
Australian pacer Nathan Ellis has been with the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for three seasons, with the IPL 2024 being his fourth. While he has played just 15 games overall, Ellis has benefited from having some great conversations with the support staff as well as some players in the Punjab camp.
Having played 10 games in the previous season, Ellis formed a crucial death-bowling partnership with left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh and naturally developed a great camaraderie.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Nathan Ellis opened up about the learnings he has had from Arshdeep Singh. He particularly shed light on the ability of the Indian pacer to get past a bad day at the office.
"I have had some really good conversations with Arshdeep Singh about death bowling. He is someone who seems good at moving on, which is such a huge asset as a death bowler. It's just the enjoyment of life that I think I have learned the best from the Punjab setup," Ellis stated.
Ellis also understands that as a death bowler, there will be more bad days than good days. He believes his focus would always be on ensuring he has prepared well enough for games, rather than fretting about a potential mistake in execution.
Nathan Ellis on PBKS team culture
Nathan Ellis has been mesmerized by just how the Punjab Kings accept tough results and how they ensure the team environment remains right no matter what happens on the field.
Ellis claimed that PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan leads by example when it comes to not letting results affect the vibe of the team, elaborating:
"One thing that I have taken from Punjab is that win, lose, or draw, there are a lot of happy faces and happy people. I would say, spiritual people. They are very good at accepting the good, the bad, and the ugly and just getting on with life. And there's no better example of that than Shikhar Dhawan."
Nathan Ellis had a pretty successful season for Punjab last year, picking up 13 wickets in 10 games. While he hasn't featured in their opening game of IPL 2024, Ellis feels his responsibility is to ensure he makes a difference by being a good team player off the field.
"Initially (last year) I came and expected not to play with the star-studded line-up we had overseas. So for me, it was all about being ready to go whenever the opportunity came. Thankfully I did okay and that's the learning, being physically and mentally ready is the key. I have the same sort of mindset this season. My role is to be a good team man and have some sort of an impact on the team, whether it's on the days off, after dinner, or at training. So that's me at the moment," Ellis concluded.
Punjab Kings beat the Delhi Capitals comfortably by six wickets in their opening game of IPL 2024 at their new stadium in Mullanpur.