Kumble named Kings XI head coach

New Delhi, October 11 

Former India skipper Anil Kumble has been appointed as the head coach of Kings XI Punjab for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The side has also brought West Indies great Courtney Walsh on board as talent scout. 

Former India spinner Sunil Joshi will be the assistant coach of the Punjab franchise, while South African great Jonty Rhodes is set to be the team’s fielding coach. Former Australia captain George Bailey will coach the batsmen.   

Kumble has been put in charge of “all cricket-related affairs” of the side and will be making a presentation to the team management regarding his plans on October 19.

It has also been learnt that Kumble would also take a call on Ravichandran Ashwin’s future with the team on the same day. Ashwin, who captained the side in the past two seasons, is expected to be traded off to Delhi Capitals ahead of the next season.

“Kumble will decide who all players will stay and who all will be released. Walsh will be scouting talent for the team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy before the IPL and will also work with our pacers,” revealed a KXIP source.  

Kumble, who had a brief stint with the Indian men’s team as head coach between 2016 and 2017, is currently the only Indian coach in the IPL.

For the 48-year-old, KXIP will be the third IPL team that he will be involved with, having featured as a player and later captain with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008.

He had also joined Mumbai Indians in 2013 as a mentor before quitting in 2015. He then joined the Indian team as the chief coach but it ended acrimoniously in 2017 after his relationship with skipper Virat Kohli became “untenable”.

Kumble is the fifth coach to join the Punjab franchise in the last five editions. He will also have a high-profile support staff to work with. Walsh and Joshi were involved with the Bangladesh team till the World Cup while Bailey has captained KXIP. — PTI