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James Hopes and Brad Haddin have stepped down from their respective roles as fast-bowling coach and fielding coach of Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to Cricinfo.
The departures were expected, with Hopes recently appointed head coach of Queensland and the Brisbane Heat, while Haddin has taken charge as head coach of New South Wales. Hopes and Haddins departures leave PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting with key vacancies to fill in his support staff, with Sairaj Bahutule, who served as the teams spin-bowling coach in IPL 2026, having also moved on to take up the same role with the Indian mens team. PBKS endured a disappointing end to their IPL 2026 campaign. Led by captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting, Punjab Kings dominated the points table during the first half of the IPL season, winning their opening six matches in a row and holding the top spot for nearly a month. However, in the second half of the IPL, the team struggled to win matches and, eventually, got eliminated from the playoffs race. PBKS, coming in as fan favourites after a 2025 runners-up finish, did incredibly well in the first half with six wins, a no result and a record-breaking unbeaten stretch of seven matches. They were seated at the top of the table with 13 points. However, PBKS' poor tactical choices with bat and ball and catch drops led to their form tapering off, as they endured six morale-crushing defeats in a row before finally beating Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). For them, the 15 points earned were not enough. Rajasthan Royals (RR), who earned a total of 16 points, removed PBKS from the fourth position to take the final playoff spot by beating Mumbai Indians (MI). PBKS finished just one point short of the playoff spot at fifth place. (ANI)
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