Punjab Kings reportedly sacked their head coach Trevor Bayliss and head of cricket development Sanjay Bangar ahead of the IPL 2025 on Thursday. The franchise has for a complete staff overhaul after their recent appointment of Ricky Ponting as a head coach.
Bayliss failed to lead the team to playoffs in his two-year stint with the Punjab Kings, finishing 8th in 2023 and 9th in the 2024 edition. The management has set for another revamp as they remain without an IPL trophy in 17 years.
According to a report from ESPNCricinfo, the decision to remove Bayliss and Bangar from their roles was taken during the team's board meeting. Bangar's sacking came as a surprise as he joined the team as a head of cricket development in December last year.
Bangar also held the head coach position with Punjab Kings in 2014 before joining India's national team setup. Bangar was promoted to head coach of Royal Challengers Bengaluru after serving as a batting consultant in 2023.
On the other hand, Bayliss succeeded Anil Kumble as Punjab Kings' head coach in 2023. Despite regular changes to their staff and squad, the franchise failed to produce results on the pitch in the last two years.
Meanwhile, captain Shikhar Dhawan retired from all forms of cricket and the franchise is expected to name a new leader for the 2025 season. In 2024, the English all-rounder Sam Curran stepped in as a stand-in skipper when Dhawan missed the majority of the season due to injuries but the PBKS might look for an Indian name to lead the team in 2025.
Jitesh Sharma has been among the leading contenders for the captaincy role having been named the vice-captain to Shikhar early in 2024. But surprisingly, Curran was appointed to lead the team in Shikhar Dhawan's absence.
