Punjab Kings has a new skipper, Shikhar Dhawan. Meanwhile, will his partnership with head coach Trevor Bayliss be enough to hand the side its maiden IPL title? Here's what co-owner Ness Wadia feels.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) is one of the three Indian Premier League (IPL) sides since its inception in 2008 to have not won the title to date. Although it came close, by qualifying for the final in 2014, it failed to get the title. Since then, it has struggled and has lurked chiefly in the bottom half of the table. Recently, the franchise changed its skipper, replacing opener Mayank Agarwal with veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan ahead of IPL 2023. However, will his alliance with head coach Trevor Bayliss be enough to hand the side its maiden IPL title? At least, PBKs co-owner Ness Wadia seems upbeat about it.
"They [Dhawan-Bayliss] expect to take us [PBKS] to the top four and then hopefully win the Cup. Dhawan and Trevor's rich experience and knowledge should help us. It is a good combination. Trevor comes with a good track record with England and in the IPL. With all their experience combined, we are hoping it will culminate into results that Punjab needs and deserve," said Wadia, reports PTI.
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Talking about PBKS's sub-standard performance lately, Wadia considered, "It is not frustrating. It is a lot of learning. We have been millimetres away in the past, which involves a little bit of luck as well, which has not gone our way in recent times. Consistency plays a big role. We surely need to be more consistent."
Ahead of the IPL mini-auction, Wadia spoke, "We will try and keep the core group the same as much as possible. We must ensure we correctly analyse what is required to take the team forward. It is a work in progress." When asked about his interest in owning a Women's IPL (WIPL) franchise, he concluded, "Women's cricket has done phenomenally well, and a good example of that is pay parity [recently introduced by BCCI]. WIPL will grow from strength to strength, and we are considering being a part of it."