IPL 2021: Punjab Kings appoint Damien Wright as bowling coach
Indian Premier League (IPL) outfit Punjab Kings have appointed Damien Wright as the bowling coach ahead of the 2021 season. Wright joins an illustrious management in the Punjab Kings setup. Wright will lend his inputs alongside head coach Anil Kumble, assistant coach Andy Flower, batting coach Wasim Jaffer, and fielding coach Jonty Rhodes in Punjab's backroom staff. Here are the details.
A look at Wright's coaching stints
Wright has made his presence felt with Hobart Hurricanes and the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL). He also has coaching experience in New Zealand and Bangladesh as well. Wright was appointed the head coach of the Bangladesh Under-19 side in 2018, besides serving as New Zealand's bowling coach. He has a lot of pedigree and that will help Punjab.
Wright had an illustrious FC career
The former Scottish fast bowler played for several County outfits in England. In 123 First-class matches, he ended up with 406 scalps at 28.62. He claimed 16 five-wicket hauls with a best of 8/60. He also featured in 106 List A games, claiming 130 wickets with a best of 5/37. In 26 T20s, he racked up 20 wickets at 30.75.
Here's a look at the squad of Punjab Kings
Squad: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Prabsimran Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Darshan Nalkande, Chris Jordan. Players bought: Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar.
How do we rate the Punjab Kings squad?
Punjab Kings had a crucial mini-auction and the squad looks better now with the inclusion of quality pacers. Punjab have a strong batting unit and they have got in a finisher in the form of Tamil Nadu's Shahrukh Khan. The pace department is solid with quality foreign stars. However, there is a lack of depth in spin. Also, certain roles of batsmen need changing.
Punjab begin their IPL campaign on April 12
PK start their campaign against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on April 12 and will play three games at the Wankhede. The Kings will then play two games in Ahmedabad and four in Chennai before ending their league stage with a five-match run in Bengaluru.
