Punjab unlikely to renew Bayliss contract

Trevor Bayliss, the head coach of the Punjab franchise, is likely to leave the elite coaching group in the Indian T20 League. The Australian’s two-year contract with the team has expired, and Punjab is unlikely to renew it. 

As per sources, Punjab is on the lookout for an Indian coach to guide the team. Whether they will finally choose an Indian coach remains to be seen, but they are believed to be contemplating numerous options with Sanjay Bangar being one of them, who had a previous stint with the franchise as the head coach and is currently the director of cricket development.  A decision was to be made at a board meeting on July 22 but the meeting did not take place. The franchise is believed to have increased its search before the mega auction scheduled for later this year. 

The notable achievements of Rahul Dravid with the Indian cricket team, the Gautam Gambhir-Chandrakant Pandit duo’s contribution to Kolkata’s title-winning campaign in 2024, and Ashish Nehra’s instrumental association with Gujarat resulted in the Indian coaches being the flavour of the times and are in sought across the Indian T20 League franchises. Sourav Ganguly continues to play a critical role in Delhi’s coaching setup, and BLR have brought in Dinesh Kartik in their coaching unit for the forthcoming season. 

As for Bayliss, who has enjoyed three separate tenures with three different franchises- Kolkata, Hyderabad and Punjab- and a highly successful stint with English cricket team in between, Punjab decision-makers have said that they will take a final call after a review meeting based on last year’s performance. His T20 records across tournaments have been appalling during the last five years- be it with Hyderabad, Sydney Thunder or Punjab. The ownership group is tight-lipped on this situation. 

It is understood that franchise insiders have no issues with the Aussie’s coaching style but admit that, at the end of the day, results matter. The team did not meet the franchise’s expectations under his guidance, finishing at eighth and ninth respectively in the last two seasons, despite having a lot of superstars in their ranks. Bayliss took the reins from Anil Kumble ahead of the 2023 season. 

Elsewhere in the Indian T20 League, Rahul Dravid is being approached by various franchises and Mumbai has garnered a lot of attention -vis-a-vis Mark Boucher. The Ashish Nehra-Vikram Solanki duo is also skating on thin ice at Gujarat while all eyes are on reigning champions Kolkata who will be looking for new coaches following a ‘mass exit’ from the franchise to the national team.