Trevor Bayliss appointed new Punjab Kings head coach for IPL 2023

Punjab Kings (PBKS) have appointed Trevor Bayliss as their new head coach for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Australian will replace Indian legend Anil Kumble, whose stint ended after the Punjab franchise decided against renewing his contract.

Bayliss coached the England team that lifted the 50-over World Cup in 2019. He was the coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) when they became IPL champions in 2012 and 2014. Bayliss has also won the Big Bash League (BBL) title with the Sydney Sixers.

Reacting to his appointment as head coach of Punjab Kings, the 59-year-old commented through an official release:

“I’m honoured to be given the head coach’s role with the Punjab Kings. A foundation franchise with an appetite for success. I look forward to working with a talented squad of players determined to compete for silverware.”

In his latest role, Bayliss will continue his long association with the Indian T20 league. He was earlier appointed head coach of SunRisers Hyderabad for the 2020 season.

The renowned coach was a middle-order batter during his playing days. He played 58 first-class matches, scoring 3060 runs, including five hundreds and 15 half-centuries, at an average of 35.58.

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Punjab Kings had a disappointing IPL 2022 campaign

Punjab Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2022. They slipped after an impressive start to the season and finished sixth, winning seven matches and losing as many games.

PBKS have failed to reach the playoffs since the 2014 season, when they ended up as the runners-up. In the last four seasons, they have finished in sixth position in the points table.

After Kumble’s removal as head coach, rumors began doing the rounds that Mayank Agarwal was also set to be sacked as captain. However, the Punjab franchise refuted the rumors. Issuing a clarification, they said:

“News reports published by a certain sports news website pertaining to the captaincy of the Punjab Kings franchise has been making the rounds in the last few days. We would like to state that no official of the team has issued any statement on the same.”

Agarwal was named PBKS captain for the 2022 season after KL Rahul moved to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). However, the new skipper had a forgettable season, scoring 196 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 122.5.