Kings XI Punjab appoint Anil Kumble as their 5th head coach in 5 years

The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), one of the only three franchises which is yet to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) title, has appointed Anil Kumble as the head coach of the team. Kumble will also look after ‘all the cricket-related affairs’ of the franchise for the foreseeable future. Also, the decision on whether to retain or release KXIP’s captain Ravi Ashwin for the upcoming season will also be taken on October 19 after consulting Kumble.

Kumble’s appointment at the helm makes him the fifth coach of the Kings XI in five seasons. Sanjay Bangar coached the team from 2014 to 2016 before Virender Sehwag took over in 2017. Brad Hodge and Mike Hesson were the head coach for the next couple of seasons then respectively and the former India head coach Kumble will now take over the reins of the team.

According to the reports in ESPNCricinfo, Anil Kumble will now give the presentation to the team management on his plans for the road ahead on October 19 and at the same time, Ashwin’s future with the franchise will also be decided. Meanwhile, the off-spinner has dropped a hint himself of leaving the KXIP by removing the team’s name from his Twitter bio.

Speaking about Ravi Ashwin though the co-owner of the franchise Mohit Burman termed him as the best spinner they possess. “He is still the best spinner that you have,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Next.

Bailey appointed the batting coach

Kings XI Punjab has also appointed a fresh support staff for the upcoming season. It has been hired in consultation with Anil Kumble with George Bailey, who has played for the franchise before and led them to final in IPL 2014,  named the batting coach according to Cricket Next. Courtney Walsh has been appointed the bowling coach while Jonty Rhodes will take over as the fielding coach of the team. The former India spinner Sunil Joshi will be the assistant coach of the team.