Kings XI Punjab has appointed former Indian captain and coach Anil Kumble as their head coach. It was earlier reported that Kumble has been appointed as the director of operations for the franchise. However, now it is confirmed that Kumble will hold the coaching reins for the Punjab side.
In fact, Kumble would be the only Indian coach in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. Kumble has all the experience under his belt and he is a great addition to the team’s coaching staff.
Great move by Kings XI Punjab.
On the other hand, Kumble also has the experience of mentoring teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. Under Kumble’s tutelage, Mumbai Indians had gone on to win the IPL titles in 2013 and 2015.
Thus, the former leg-spinner will look to replicate the same success for the Kings XI Punjab. The Punjab team is yet to savour success in the folklore of the Twenty20 league and Kumble will like to turn the tables. The best result for the franchise has been the final of the 2014 edition which they lost against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Meanwhile, there were also talks of Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin moving to Delhi Capitals. However, co-owner of the franchise Mohit Burman has confirmed that the final call will be taken by the rookie coach of the franchise.
Kumble had recently heaped high praise on the talisman spinner after he had taken seven wickets against South Africa in the first innings of the Visakhapatnam Test. The former captain had said that Ashwin is still the best spinner India has at the moment while talking to CricketNext.
The Indian Premier League auction will take place at Kolkata on December 20. Kumble has been a veteran in the field and he would like to get the best out of Kings XI Punjab’s players.