Punjab Kings have officially parted ways with head coach Trevor Bayliss and head of cricket development Sanjay Bangar ahead of IPL 2025. The franchise board, including its four co-owners, made the decision as part of a broader plan to revamp the team’s coaching staff.
Bayliss, who took over in 2022, and Bangar, who rejoined the franchise in December 2023, exited after disappointing finishes in the last two seasons. Punjab Kings ended in eighth place in IPL 2023 and ninth in IPL 2024, continuing their struggles to secure an IPL title. The team has never won the coveted championship in its history.
This reshuffle follows the recent appointment of Ricky Ponting as the new head coach. Ponting, who signed a four-year contract running from 2025 to 2028, aims to change the team’s culture and performance. His goal is to break the cycle of poor results and establish a winning mentality within the squad. Ponting expressed his desire to move away from mediocrity and elevate the team’s standing in the IPL.
Sanjay Bangar had a previous stint with Punjab Kings as head coach from 2014 to 2016, after which he served as India’s assistant coach and later led Royal Challengers Bangalore. Despite his extensive experience, the franchise’s leadership chose to make further changes, hoping to improve consistency.
Punjab Kings have frequently changed their leadership and coaching staff in recent years. Ponting’s vision is to bring more competitiveness and dynamism to the team, ultimately aiming to create a stronger identity and more recognition in the IPL. He said:
“The biggest thing that I want to do at Punjab Kings is make everyone aware that it’s going to be a different place. We are not going to sit back and just accept mediocrity and finish down the bottom and have other people sit back and talk about the way the franchise is going. It is going to be more dynamic. And people are going to be talking about this team and this franchise in a different way than ever before.”
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