Cooper Connolly got bad news just hours after his IPL debut, Cricket Australia removed him from the central contract.

New Delhi. Tuesday became a memorable day for Australia's young all-rounder Cooper Connolly. He made his debut in the Indian Premier League and played a match-winning inning in the very first match. The amazing thing is that just a few hours after Punjab Kings won against Gujarat Titans, they got bad news. The all-rounder of Australia and Punjab Kings was dropped from the central contract of Cricket Australia on Wednesday. He could not perform well for his national team in the T20 format.

Australia's selectors recognized him early. In the last 18 months, he got Test debut and many white-ball opportunities. With just 28 runs in 11 T20 Internationals and an average of 4.66, he was certain to lose his contract. Connolly and Sam Constas are among the young cricketers who have been left out of the central contracts for 2026-27. Cricket Australia has reduced its contract list to 21. This decision has been taken in view of the busy schedule of 21 Test matches in the next 12 months.

Punjab's start faltered due to Prasidh Krishna's brilliant bowling (3/29). The team regained its composure and achieved the target of 163 runs with five balls to spare. Connolly and Prabhsimran Singh (37 runs in 24 balls) laid the foundation of victory against Gujarat Titans by making an important partnership of 76 runs for the second wicket. After the match, Connolly said, “I wanted to experience playing with some world class players, but I am very happy with the performance today.”

He further added, “Before this, I spent time at home with friends and family to reset myself. I am a tempo player, feel the flow of my hands, don't hit too many big sixes… It is great to work with Ricky.”