Indian Premier League (IPL) outfit Punjab Kings have announced the appointment of former head coach Sanjay Bangar as their new Head of Cricket Development at the franchise on December 8, Friday.
Bangar began his IPL coaching journey when he took up the role of assistant coach for the Kings XI Punjab in January 2014. During that season, he reached the position of head coach and steered the team to their most impressive performance to that point, reaching the final, before losing to the Kolkata Knight Riders. He continued to lead the Kings XI Punjab for three years until he had to step down due to the BCCI's conflict of interest regulations.
In August 2014, following a disappointing Test series defeat against England, Bangar was appointed as the batting coach for the Indian national team. He took on the role of head coach for the Zimbabwe tour in June 2016 and retained the position of batting coach under the leadership of both Anil Kumble and later Ravi Shastri.
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In February 2021, Bangar joined Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as a consultant, and on November 9, 2021, he was named the head coach for the 2022 IPL season. Under his guidance, RCB managed to reach the playoff berths in 2021 and 2022, narrowly missing 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.
"It's my privilege to be with the Punjab Kings again. We have a good core of players as evidenced by the fact that we have the lowest number of player releases this year. The challenge is to give the squad the best support possible during and after the season to make the team stronger and deliver success," Bangar said in a media release.
Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, PBKS have released 5 players with a big name being Shahrukh Khan. The Mohali-based franchise have a purse of 29.1 crores to spend in the auction.
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