India, May 18 -- Finn Allen feels stepping away from the playing XI helped him rediscover the joy of batting,, as the KKR opener by his own admission had become a "shallower" person by putting too much "self-inflicted" pressure during the early part of the IPL season.

Coming into the tournament on the back of a blistering 33-ball 100 not out against South Africa in the T20 World Cup semifinal at the same venue, Allen arrived with huge expectations of providing KKR similar starts at the top.

But the aggressive New Zealand opener endured a rough beginning, managing just 81 runs in five innings, including scores of 6, 9 and 1, before KKR benched him for three matches against Gujarat Titans, Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants. Allen ...