Former India’s Test captain Anil Kumble has resumed his duties as a Director of Operations for the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab as the Director of Operations. Kumble will be replacing Mike Hesson as the new Head Coach. KXIP has still not won an IPL title so far along with Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, they made it to the finals in 2014 and with Kumble being roped in, the franchisee now hopes to revive their fortunes. Kumble has been hired alongside former Australia batsman George Bailey will be the new batting coach of the team. IPL 2020 Auction Date Finalised: Indian Premier League 13 Auctions Likely to be Scheduled in December 2019.
“Kumble is our choice to coach Kings XI. The world knows about his cricketing and coaching abilities. He’s a very calm, cool and collected person. He comes with a lot of experience in the IPL, having worked with two other franchises in the past, and also with the Indian team. We’re pretty sure that under his leadership, Kings XI will do very well,” Kings XI co-owner Ness Wadia told TOI on Thursday.
Former India spinner Sunil Joshi will take charge as assistant coach of the team. South African Jonty Rhodes could be roped in as fielding coach and Courtney Walsh could be the bowling coach, according to reports in Times of India. The owner of the franchisee also spoke about Ravichandran Ashwin who is rumoured to be traded off with Delhi Capitals and said that he still remains an integral part of the team. “We value Ashwin tremendously,” he said. Meanwhile, the mini auctions for the upcoming edition of the IPL 2020 are supposed to be held on December 2019 this year.