Former India batter Sanjay Bangar has returned to his former franchise Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2024 Auction. Bangar who served as the head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore ended his stint. And on the IPL auction day on December 19, he will switch table to PBKS. He rejoins PBKS as the Director of Cricket Development.
“We are delighted to announce the return of our sher, Sanjay Bangar as the new Head of Cricket Development at Punjab Kings. Mr. Bangar brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our organization, and we are confident that under his leadership, our cricket development programs will reach new heights,” Punjab Kings said in a statement.
Sanjay Bangar joined Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2021 as the batting consultant. In the following season, Bangar was appointed as the head coach after Simon Katich parted ways.
Under his guidance, even though RCB did not win the title, they reached the playoffs twice.
Before RCB stint, Sanjay Bangar was India batting coach from 2014 to 2019. During his stint, Indian batters excelled in overseas conditions. India also became World No 1 Test team and held on to the spot for over three years.
Homecoming for Sanjay Bangar
With another disappointing IPL season, Punjab Kings will bank on Sanjay Bangar to steer the ship as the head of cricket development. He joined PBKS back in 2014 as the assistant coach. Later, he was promoted to the role of head coach and guided the team to IPL final in 2014, PBKS’ best result till date.
“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,” Sanjay Bangar said.
