IPL 8: Australian students in India for internship, courtesy Kings XI Punjab

Mumbai: Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kings XI Punjab have offered a unique opportunity to a handful of Australian students by bringing them on as interns. The students, who’re mostly pursuing sports management at Australia’s La Trobe University, are interacting with cricket bigwigs in India even as they try to gain some practical experience for their careers.

Twenty-three year old Simon Armstrong, one of the interns, said, “I was stunned when I heard about the offer from Kings XI Punjab. They did so well last season. IPL is pretty popular here and I have followed the tournament closely.”

With the presence of so many Australian cricketers in Kings XI — George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Johnson — that the students seem so well-versed with the team’s performance isn’t surprising.

“I look at the marketing side and yes, you can say that my interest in Kings XI is mainly because of the presence of Australian cricketers,” said Simon. Simon also pointed out the difference between IPL and the Big Bash League (BBL) — the

Australian T20 extravaganza. “The noise, atmosphere in IPL is different from BBL. It is something I have never seen before. But the passion with which the cricketers play is the same,” added Simon, who has become an Anureet Singh (the Kings XI seamer) fan.

Jarryd Browne, a 30-year-old from Melbourne, is handling ticketing and sponsorship during his internship. “I always wanted to meet Johnson and Kings XI provided me the chance. He has been my hero for many years,” says Browne, whose best experience in the tournament so far was the Super Over match that Kings XI won against Rajasthan Royals.

He also said that the Indians are being very helpful. “People are taking us seriously.

They often try and help us whenever we are stuck in our work,” said Browne, who still mourns the death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes in November 2014. “When you hear things like that, you’re at loss for words. It was tragic,” he adds.

As of now, how long the students will stay in India depends on the longevity of Kings XI in the tournament.