Wasim Jaffer likely to replace Trevor Bayliss as next Punjab Kings head coach

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer is likely to replace Trevor Bayliss as the next head coach of Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2024. He has previously served as the batting coach of the franchise.

Punjab Kings finished eighth and ninth in the last two editions of the IPL under Bayliss. With the kind of squad, he had at his disposal, The former KKR head coach could not bring out the best from the PBKS players.

After Bayliss's release Punjab Kings are looking for an Indian coach. The success of Gautam Gambhir with KKR, Ashish Nehra with Gujarat Titans, and Sourav Ganguly partially for Delhi Capitals might have prompted this move from Punjab Kings.

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Punjab Kings Looking For Indian Coach Fits Wasim Jaffer's Bill

After Ricky Ponting, previously ended his association with Delhi Capitals, Bayliss became the second foreign coach to bring his stint to an end. There are reports now that Wasim Jaffer is close to becoming the next head coach for Punjab Kings. Jaffer was the batting coach of Punjab Kings between 2019 and 2021 but stepped down from his role before the IPL 2022 auction.

Meanwhile, ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, he will have an uphill task of retaining the core of the side and once again rebuilding the squad from scratch. Over the years, no captain-coach combination has been able to win the IPL title for Punjab Kings. They reached the final of the 2014 season which remains their best-ever campaign in the IPL.

They blew hot and cold throughout the tournament. PBKS chased down 261 against KKR, the highest-ever chase in the IPL history, and also defeated Chennai Super Kings in one of the two matches. Overall they won five games and lost nine to finish ninth on the table.

PBKS has never managed to win an IPL title despite playing in all 17 seasons of the cash-rich league so far. In fact, in the last 10 years, it has not even managed to qualify for the playoffs.

Rahul Dravid is another big name who is on the wishlist of several franchises. While there are reports that he is likely to rejoin Rajasthan Royals, there are reports that even KKR is interested in toping him after the departure of Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir is now the head coach of the Indian team and replaced Dravid who won the T20 World Cup 2024 with the side.

Meanwhile, the much-awaited meeting between the IPL owners and the BCCI will be held on July 31. The agenda of the meeting will be on the roadmap to the IPL 2025 mega auction. It is for sure that there will be a mega auction ahead of the next season.

IPL CEO Hemang Amin has sent an informal text message to all the franchise owners and the formal communication will be made soon. There have been talks about the number of retentions and the count has varied from one to eight. On average 5-6 retentions are allowed to be made as per reports. Also the Right To Match (RTM) option is being debated as well.

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