In advance of the 2015 IPL season, the 2014 IPL runners-up Punjab Kings on Thursday put an end to rumours that the team's captain might be replaced. Media rumours that Mayank Agarwal, the team's captain for the IPL 2022 season, might be replaced by England wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow were rampant earlier this week.
According to a source familiar with the situation, the team is already in talks with players like Eoin Morgan, Trevor Bayliss, and a former Indian coach for the position as they prepare to fire Anil Kumble after yet another disastrous IPL 2022 season. Despite having a strong start, Punjab Kings placed sixth in the points standings.
The Punjab Kings franchise issued an official statement stating, "News reports published by a certain sports news website pertaining to captaincy of the Punjab Kings franchise have been making the rounds in the last few days. We would like to state that no official of the team has issued any statement on the same."
It's interesting to note that Punjab Kings' statement didn't deny the report that Anil Kumble had been fired, which underlines the likelihood that a new head coach will be hired before the new season.
Agarwal was named the captain of Punjab Kings prior to the start of the IPL 2022 season, while KL Rahul assumed the position with the league's newcomers, Lucknow Super Giants.
With the bat, Agarwal had a forgettable IPL 2022 season, amassing just 196 runs in 12 innings at an average of 16.33 and a strike rate of 122.5, not ranking among the team's top five run scorers.
Despite having a very aggressive batting lineup, Punjab under his leadership missed the playoffs and placed sixth in the points table.
Agarwal has scored 480 runs in 11 innings while playing for the Bengaluru Blasters in the Maharaja KSCA T20 League, with an average of 53.33 and a strike rate of 167.24, including two centuries.