While the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings fought it out for multiple players, Punjab Kings enjoyed a largely quiet evening at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi during IPL mini-Auction. The Punjab table, which also had captain Shreyas Iyer in attendance, sprung to life when Australian all-rounder Cooper Connolly's name came up. They edged out KKR to secure his services for INR 3 crore, adding another Aussie to their ranks. The 22-year-old Connolly, who watched in glee as the batons were raised for him, is now looking forward to what could be his first tryst with coach Ricky Ponting.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting stuck in with Ricky," Connolly said. "I've heard a lot of good things about him. I haven't done a lot of work with him just yet. So I'm looking forward to spending some time with him and sort of doing some tweaks to my batting and seeing what his thoughts are on it. I am looking forward to getting over there and challenging myself against some of the best bowlers in the world."

Ponting of course, will not be the only compatriot that Connolly will share his IPL dressing room with. The PBKS squad now has four other Aussies besides Connolly - Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Ben Dwarshuis and Xavier Bartlett.

"I think what I'm looking forward to is just learning off some world-class players like Shreyas. And then obviously spending a bit of time with Marcus Stoinis. Yeah, I'm just looking forward to learning. If I get an opportunity, I get an opportunity. I'm just going to go over there with an open mind and try to take as much of a bus as I can," Connolly offered.

As a spin-bowling all-rounder, the comparisons with Glenn Maxwell are almost inevitable. Maxwell enjoyed two different stints with the Punjab franchise - the first one across four seasons from 2014-2018. He was instrumental (552 runs at a strike rate of 187.75) in the team's gallop to the final in 2014. He returned to the franchise last season, but endured a tough time and then chose not to partake in the mini-auction after being released.

"Yeah, I think the comparisons to Max, I'll take it. But he's a world-class player. I'm a long way from being as good as him," Connolly offered.

There's more to Connolly's connection with the Punjab side. His childhood hero Shaun Marsh played nine seasons of IPL, all with Kings XI Punjab, and was the first recipient of the orange cap - after scoring 616 runs in the inaugural edition in 2008. Connolly hopes to have a legacy like his hero, and plans to chat with him about his IPL experience in the coming months.

"He's created a legacy all over the world because he's a world-class player and I still speak to him occasionally," Connolly said of Marsh. "But yeah, I think obviously to have the career he had would be unbelievable, but there's still a long way to go. I'd [also] like to leave a legacy at Punjab. If I get the opportunity, hopefully I can etch my name in history and win the trophy for Punjab. I'm sure over the next couple of months, I'll speak to Shaun about his time over at Punjab and how he enjoyed it and I guess what worked for him. But yeah, that's time. I guess I'll have that conversation with him a bit later."

In their run to the final, PBKS looked assured at the top of the order with Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis, Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis making up the top-seven. With Inglis going elsewhere, there's a vacancy for an overseas No.3 batter - a role that Connolly essays for Perth Scorchers at the BBL. But following the auction, Shreyas Iyer appeared to have hinted that Connolly would fit perfectly as a finisher for the franchise. On his part, Connolly admitted he was open to batting anywhere.

"Yeah, I think for me, I've had the ability to bat in all positions for my BBL team Perth Scorchers. So, I've batted in the middle ...and I bat at number three at the moment. If I get that opportunity to finish the innings in the middle order... I will prepare for that as best as I can and look to just perform my role," he said.

"We've still got a bit of time until the IPL. I think I like to model my game on being able to be versatile in any position. So, whether that's at three or in the middle, I'm happy to perform any role.

"And I feel like I'm still learning the role at number three in BBL. If the role in the IPL is different, that's totally understandable because it's a world-class team. So, yeah, to just be in the middle order would be sort of a nice opportunity just to sort of knuckle down and get to work in the middle order," he added.