Punjab Kings are looking for a new head coach as Anil Kumble’s contract expires. Kumble had been with the Punjab Kings since 2020, but the team had never made it to the playoffs.
Anil Kumble’s tenure as head coach of IPL franchise Punjab Kings has come to an end after the franchise declined to renew his contract. A board of directors comprised of several owners, including Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, industrialists Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, and Karan Paul, as well as Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon, decided to relieve Kumble of his responsibilities.
There has been no word on who has taken over for the former India cricketer, but the franchise is reportedly looking for potential candidates and an announcement is expected soon. In each of the three seasons since 2020, Punjab Kings finished in the bottom half of the IPL points table.
Prior to the addition of the two new teams in 2022, the Punjab Kings finished fifth in both the 2020 and 2021 editions, when eight teams competed for the coveted trophy. The Kings finished sixth in this year’s revamped 10-team tournament, which was also the 15th edition of the cash-rich event.
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PBKS will compete for their first IPL title under a new head coach.
The Punjab Kings’ relationship with the head coach has lasted a long time, but the team has yet to win a title in the tournament’s 15-year history. When Kumble was hired in 2020, he became the Kings’ fifth coach in the previous five years. Previous head coaches included Sanjay Bangar (2014-16), Virender Sehwag (2017), Brad Hodge (2018), and Mike Hesson (2019).
In 2020, Kumble was the only Indian head coach in the IPL. Following his playing career, he worked as a mentor for two IPL teams, the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians. His third team was the Punjab Kings. This was prior to his appointment as India’s head coach for a year in 2016.
Being in charge of the Punjab Kings franchise, whether as captain or coach, hasn’t been easy for Kumble. Even after some thrilling victories, Punjab Kings were unable to rise above the rest. Both the captaincy and the coaching roles threw numerous challenges at Kumble, and he did his best to meet them.
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