After finishing bottom of the table in the last two editions of the Indian Premier League, Kings XI Punjab have parted ways with coach Sanjay Bangar.
Bangar, who is also the batting coach of the Indian cricket team, said that he submitted his resignation a few weeks back.
“I submitted my resignation in the last week of November. They [the franchise] came back to me around the second week of December,” Bangar told ESPNcricinfo. “I was totally engrossed in the [England] series and that is the reason why I sort of waited till the end of the series.”
This could mean the Nawab of Najafgarh could start a new innings soon. Reports suggest that Virender Sehwag could be in line to replace Bangar. Sehwag, who has already spent two seasons at the franchise as a mentor, has emerged as the immediate front-runner to reverse the fortunes of the franchise.
Bangar had started with a bang in his first season as coach, leading KXIP to a top of the table finish but the next two seasons saw the team’s form dip considerably. The former India all-rounder ruled out any misunderstanding with the team’s co-owner as the reason for his decision.
“The IPL is a model which is run on producing results,” he was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. “We as professionals need to accept this thing. (For the last) two seasons we didn’t get the results we wanted. It was time to move on and let fresh ideas come in.”