IPL 2023: Punjab Kings issue statement on reports claiming Mayank Agarwal's removal as captain

IPL 2023 is still a few months away, but IPL franchise Punjab Kings has been making headlines after rumors that they are in talks to let rid of head coach Anil Kumble. Following the departure of the former Indian cricketer, it was also reported that the team is considering removing Mayank Agarwal as captain.

Following the completion of the IPL 2022 season, in which the Punjab-based franchise failed to make the playoffs, the franchise decided not to renew head coach Kumble's contract, which expired after a three-year stint in 2022. Kumble was hired by the franchise in 2020 and has presided over 42 games, winning 19.

After Mayank's disastrous IPL 2022, a specific source said that the team is considering alternative captaincy candidates. "No, Mayank is not going to take the leadership. He must concentrate on his hitting. He will be a key member of our team. We are talking about a couple ideas for Anil, but nothing has happened as of yet. There is yet time. We'll make a decision when it's appropriate, a Punjab Kings representative told InsideSport.

However, the franchise took to its official Twitter to refute those claims. “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,” read the tweet.

News reports published by a certain sports News website pertaining to 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.

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) August 24, 2022

After Indian opener KL Rahul left for Lucknow Super Giants prior to the tournament earlier this year, Mayank was named the team's captain. According to earlier reports on a news website, the Indian opener is no longer expected to captain the team in the forthcoming competition. Instead, he has been told to concentrate on improving his batting, which has suffered since becoming the skipper.

Mayank, who usually opens, opted to bat lower down the order and that did no good for him as he had one of his worst seasons in IPL ever where scored only 196 runs in 13 games at an average of 16.33 and a strike rate of 122.50.