Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has ended his role as batting consultant with Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2024. Sanjay Bangar, who was hired as Director of Cricket for the franchise, will now also be the team’s batting consultant, according to PTI. .
Punjab Kings will be led by Shikhar Dhawan in IPL 2024. The franchise finished eighth in the points table last season, winning six games and losing eight. They have consistently finished sixth or lower in the last few years of the IPL.
The franchise owners have changed the coaching staff and captains several times, but nothing has worked for the Kings. They reached the IPL final only once in 2014, losing to Kolkata Knight Rider that year.
Looking ahead to this season they incorporated 8 players, two of which were abroad. Punjab opted for Rilee Rossouw and Chris Woakes while choosing their two foreign cricketers.
Harshal Patel (Rs. 11.75 crore), Chris Woakes (Rs. 4.20 crore), Ashutosh Sharma (Rs. 20 lakh), Vishwanath Pratap Singh (Rs. 20 lakh), Shashank Singh (Rs. 20 lakh), Tanay Thyagarajann (Rs. .20 lakh), Prince Choudhary (Rs. 20 lakh), Rilee Rossouw (Rs. 8 crore) were the players chosen in the auction.
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Wasim Jaffer ends his season with the Punjab Kings
While their batting and bowling lineup looks decent, Punjab Kings lack a renowned Indian spinner in their ranks. They also do not have a specialized spinner abroad. Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar are the two Indian spinners. They are both quite inexperienced considering they haven’t played much international cricket. Brar has not even debuted with the national team. Sikandar Raza, with his vast experience, seems to be the all-rounder in the lineup.
Jaffer, who joined the Punjab set-up as a batting consultant, has already left his place. There is also a lot of pressure on Trevor Bayliss to lead the team to the playoffs and get an extension as the franchise’s head coach. Bayliss’ contract will expire at the end of this season and his extension will only depend on the team’s performance this season.
Punjab Kings to play four matches in first leg of IPL 2024
Bayliss was with KKR the last time Punjab reached the IPL final. His best years in the IPL have been with the Knight Riders. Bayliss later served as head coach of SRH and now with the Punjab Kings.
Punjab Kings will also play their last two home matches in Dharamsala like last season. The Kings play four matches in the first leg of IPL 2024. The IPL governing council released the schedule for the first 21 matches of the season. The remaining schedule will be published once the 2024 election dates are known.
The Kings play their first match against Delhi Capitals in Mohali on March 23. They will then play RCB on March 25 in Bengaluru. They will next take on LSG in Lucknow on March 30 and play their last match of the first leg against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on April 4. The Kings are expected to play many of their home matches in the second phase of IPL 2024 at the newly inaugurated Stadium built in Mullanpur, Mohali.
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