Punjab Kings have announced that they have appointed former head coach Sanjay Bangar as the new Head of Cricket Development at the franchise on December 8, Friday.
Bangar’s IPL coaching career kicked off when he was appointed as the assistant coach for Kings XI Punjab in January 2014. During that season, he was promoted to head coach and led the team to their best performance to date, reaching the final where they were defeated by Kolkata Knight Riders. He continued to coach Kings XI Punjab for three years until he had to step down due to BCCI’s conflict of interest rules.
In August 2014, following a disappointing Test series loss to England, Bangar was named the batting coach of the Indian national team. He served as the head coach for the Zimbabwe tour in June 2016 and continued as the batting coach under head coaches Anil Kumble and later Ravi Shastri.
In February 2021, he joined Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as a consultant, and on November 9, 2021, he was appointed as the head coach for the 2022 IPL season. Under his guidance, RCB reached the playoffs in 2021 and 2022 and narrowly missed out in 2023.
“We are delighted to announce the return of our sher, Sanjay Bangar as the new Head of Cricket Development at Punjab Kings. Mr. Bangar brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our organization, and we are confident that under his leadership, our cricket development programs will reach new heights,” read the statement from PBKS.
Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, PBKS have released 5 players with the big name being Shahrukh Khan. The Mohali-based franchise have a purse of 29.1 crores to spend in the auction.
