The Punjab Kings have a new bowling coach in Australian Damien Wright.
Wright has replaced former bowling coach Charl Langeveldt.
The 45-year-old Wright previously worked with New Zealand, Bangladesh Under-19 and the Melbourne Stars in Australia's Big Bash League.
“I am delighted to come on board as bowling coach for Punjab Kings. The team looks great and there is tremendous potential in this squad and I look forward to working alongside an amazing support staff team this season of the IPL,” said Wright.
He will work alongside Punjab director of cricket operations Anil Kumble, assistant coach Andy Flower, batting coach Wasim Jaffer and fielding coach Jonty Rhodes.
“We are pleased to announce that Damien will join us as bowling coach at Punjab Kings. He brings in a great deal of experience and will definitely help strengthen our team. We look forward to working with him this edition of the IPL,” added Kumble.
The Punjab Kings used to be branded the Kings XI Punjab. The franchise have never won the IPL.
Punjab's Retained Players
The franchise retained these players prior to the 2021 auction:
- KL Rahul
- Chris Gayle
- Mayank Agarwal
- Nicholas Pooran
- Mandeep Singh
- Sarfaraz Khan
- Deepak Hooda
- Prabhsimran Singh
- Mohammed Shami
- Chris Jordan
- Darshan Nalkande
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Murugan Ashwin
- Arshdeep Singh
- Harpreet Brar
- Ishan Porel
Who Did the Kings Release?
Punjab released these players before the 2021 auction:
- Glenn Maxwell
- Karun Nair
- Hardus Viljoen
- Jagadeesha Suchith
- Mujeeb ur Rahman
- Sheldon Cottrell
- Jimmy Neesham
- Krishnappa Gowtham
- Tajinder Singh
The Players Punjab Bought
Punjab purchased these stars at the 2021 auction:
- Jhye Richardson
- Riley Meredith
- Shahrukh Khan
- Moises Henriques
- Dawid Malan
- Fabian Allen
- Jalaj Saxena
- Saurabh Kumar
- Utkarsh Singh
IPL Background
The Mumbai Indians are the reigning champions. They beat the Delhi Capitals in the 2020 final. Mumbai's five are the most titles by any IPL franchise.
The Chennai Super Kings have won the tournament three times. The Kolkata Knight Riders have two IPL titles. The Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals have won the event once each.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi have also not won the IPL.
The 2021 IPL will start on 9 April. The tournament will be played at six stadiums in India. Last season's tournament was played in the United Arab Emirates.
