Punjab Kings pacer Xavier Bartlett has hailed teammate Arshdeep Singh’s influence as “amazing”, crediting the India seamer’s experience for helping him adapt to Indian conditions in the ongoing IPL. Bartlett, who has featured in Punjab Kings’ rotation this season, has picked up 4 wickets in IPL 2026, with best figures of 2/9 as he continues to find his feet in a varied pace attack alongside Arshdeep. “Arshdeep has been incredible…He’s had so much experience in these conditions, and has been someone I’ve loved working with,” Bartlett told PTI Videos.
“Not just in games but in training as well. Seeing how hard he works and how much better he’s got over the last 12 months has been amazing.” On adapting to Indian conditions, Bartlett said he worked on expanding his skillset.
“In Australia, you can sort of bash away at the length and you get a little bit of assistance from the wicket, which you do here at times, but probably not as frequently,” he said.
“For me, it was trying to develop a few more slower balls and really trying to nail my yorker, which I felt like I’ve done reasonably well over the last couple of years. But still massive room for improvement for myself.” The Queenslander also highlighted the importance of camaraderie within the pace unit which includes Arshdeep, Marco Jansen and Vijaykumar Vyshak.
“I think we’re all very different. We have a lot of variety in our attack,” he said.
“It’s been really nice to work with those sort of players, to try and pick their brains.” Bartlett credited head coach Ricky Ponting and captain Shreyas Iyer for creating a calm and confident environment within the group, which he believes has been central to Punjab Kings’ unbeaten start to the season.
“The confidence that Ricky and Shreyas instil in you every day to go out there and try to perform your best is probably one of the reasons we’re having some success early in the tournament,” he said.
“Shreyas is very cool, calm and collected on the field. To have that at mid-off holds you in good stead and doesn’t let your emotions take over too much,” he said.
Impact Player rule good for T20 cricket
The Aussie quick believes the IPL’s ‘Impact Player’ rule adds value to the game, saying it creates opportunities for players as he drew parallels with the Big Bash League’s X-factor rule, under which he got early opportunities in his career.
“I think it’s a good thing because it gets you into the game. I’d rather do what I did, bowl that one over. It sort of held me in good stead and got me some exposure,” Bartlett said.
“It could have been a lot different there if I didn’t get those opportunities early, was sitting on the bench.
“I think it’s obviously just one of the things that’s evolving and adapting with T20 cricket. I think it’s good for the game. It makes it exciting, that’s for sure”, he added.
He has also made an impressive start to his international career for Australia, taking 15 wickets in his first five ODIs at an average around 11, including best figures of 4/17, while he has claimed 24 wickets in 21 T20Is.
In domestic cricket, Bartlett has been a consistent performer for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield with 111 wickets in 32 matches at an average of 25.77.
Despite his progress in white-ball cricket, Bartlett reiterated that Test cricket remains his ultimate ambition.
“Yeah, I’d love to play Test cricket for Australia. That’s the ultimate goal. That’s what I always grew up wanting to do as a kid, to get that baggy green,” he said.
“At the moment in Australia, we’ve got an unbelievable sort of pace attack… it’s a pretty hard team to get into, but definitely something I’m driving towards.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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