Punjab Kings part ways with their head coach Anil Kumble, approach Eoin Morgan for the role

Punjab Kings has not renewed head coach Anil Kumble's contract, ending his tenure with the franchise. As per ESPNCricinfo, the decision was taken by a board comprising of multiple owners, which included Bollywood actor Preity Zinta, industrialists Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia and Karan Paul and King's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satish Menon. 

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They are currently looking out for a new coach, which will be announced soon. Ever since Kumble joined the franchise in 2020, the team finished in the lower half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table, fifth during 2020 and 2021 when the league had eight teams and sixth in the 2022 edition when it featured ten teams. 

He was the fifth coach to be appointed by the franchise, Sanjay Bangar (2014-16), Virender Sehwag (2017), Brad Hodge (2018) and Mike Hesson (2019). Kings were the third IPL team Kumble associated himself with after his playing days, having served as a mentor for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. This was before he was appointed as head coach of India in 2016 for a year. Kumble was in charge of the franchise for 42 games out of which he could win only 18, lost 22 and tied two. 

This is the second worst win-loss ratio for any IPL franchise since 2020, with Sunrisers Hyderabad at the top in this aspect. The side has made only two appearances in playoffs, including the final of the 2014 IPL. 

The constant changes in captaincy and coaching hurt the side in 2022 despite great buys at the auction. The buys included England stars Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow, South African quick Kagiso Rabada, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan and West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith. 

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They had also retained Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh ahead of the auction. Arshdeep's fine performances earned him a national side call-up, but Agarwal could muster only 196 runs at an average of 16.33, in contrast with his 2019 (332 runs), 2020 (424 runs) and 2021 (441 runs) seasons. 

Also, Punjab has refuted media reports that quoted unnamed officials of the franchise speculating on Agarwal`s future as captain of the franchise. The final call will be taken by the new head coach but as per reports, they have approached former England skipper Eoin Morgan. The announcement regarding the same can be made soon.