Punjab Kings appoint Sanjay Bangar as Head of Cricket Development ahead of IPL 2024

Former Team India batting coach Sanjay Bangar will return to his former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS) ahead of the 2024 edition as their head of cricket development. Bangar served as the assistant coach of the franchise ahead of IPL 2014 and went on to coach them for a couple of seasons.

Following his previous stint as the coach of the Punjab Kings. Bangar was India's batting consultant. During his tenure, the Men in Blue reached the 2019 ODI World Cup final in England.

He joined Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as their batting coach in 2021 and was with the franchise for the next two years. Nevertheless, RCB terminated Bangar's contract ahead of IPL 2024, and Punjab grabbed the opportunity by signing him.

In a media release, Sanjay Bangar addressed his appointment, saying:

"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's latest role renders him to work closely with coach Trevor Bayliss. Their first job will be to strengthen their squad at the IPL 2024 auction on December 19 in Dubai.

Formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, the franchise had their best result in 2014 when reached the final, but failed to win the title.

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Punjab Kings released only 5 players ahead of IPL 2024 auction

Shikhar Dhawan playing a shot. (Image Credits: Twitter)

Punjab Kings have released only five players, comprising Shahrukh Khan, Raj Bawa, Baltej Dhanda, Mohit Rathee, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, going into the auction. They will enter the auction room with a remaining purse of ₹29.1 crore.

Despite some high-profile purchases in the last few years, the Kings haven't managed to reach the playoffs, finishing in the lower half of the table. The most recent edition saw them finish at the eighth spot, managing only six victories in 14 matches.