New Delhi: Punjab Kings field coach Jonty Rhodes has taken on the additional role of batting coach following the departure of Wasim Jaffer.
Rhodes is considered one of the greatest outfielders of all time, but also scored over 8,000 runs for South Africa.
The 52-year-old also sat at the IPL auction table alongside head coach Anil Kumble and co-owners last week. Rhodes made 5,935 runs in 245 ODIs and 2,532 runs in 52 tests.
While Kumble will work with the spinners, Damien Wright will remain the fast bowling coach. Andy Flower, who was the assistant coach last season, has taken on the role of head coach at the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants.
Punjab Kings, who have never won an IPL title and most recently reached the final in 2014, are confident to go all the way after a “successful” auction where the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Shahrukh, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada and India U-19 star Raj Bawa.
Punjab entered the auction with the maximum purse held by only Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh.
The team will also soon decide on the captaincy.
Retained opener Mayank Agarwal, who has performed consistently for the team, led the team in the absence of KL Rahul last season when the latter was injured.
India opener Dhawan has emerged as a strong contender for the captaincy. He is a senior of Agarwal and a consistent performer in the IPL. Dhawan has briefly captained Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“The team is keen to have an Indian captain and the choice will be announced shortly,” a BCCI official said.
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