'We Have the Lowest Number of Player...': Sanjay Bangar Reacts After Returning to Punjab Kings

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar has re-joined the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Punjab Kings as the head of cricket development.

Bangar, who bid adieu to international cricket in 2004, has acquired a lot of experience in coaching. His past association with the Punjab-based franchise dates back to 2014 in the role of an assistant coach.

As the team showed significant development under his guidance, Bangar was promoted to the head coach role in the same season. He stayed at the helm till the 2016 IPL.

This time, Bangar will work under Punjab head coach Trevor Bayliss.

Bangar is happy to make a his return to the Punjab dugout and is hopeful to help the franchise achieve success in the upcoming seasons.

“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 said in a statement.

Satis Menon, the CEO of the PBKS franchise, has also shown his faith in the former India allrounder’s rich coaching experience.

Sharing his excitement, Menon said, “Sanjay is an experienced coach and has great credentials. Over the season and beyond, we will leverage his ability to build relationships across the squad.”

During Bangar’s stint as the head coach, PBKS had reached the final of the 2014 IPL. They lost to Kolkata Knight Riders in the summit clash.

However, the team could not replicate the performance in the following two seasons and finished at the bottom of the points table on both occasions.

Bangar joined Royal Challengers Bangalore as a batting consultant in 2012. He was later bestowed the responsibility of the head coach for the next two seasons and helped RCB advance to the IPL playoffs in two of those three editions.

Bangar has also served the role of Team India’s batting coach for five years since 2014.