Andy Flower has resigned as assistant coach of the Punjab Kings ahead of the 2022 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Flower, the former Zimbabwe captain, had joined Punjab for his debut stint in the IPL ahead of the 2020 season.
The 53-year-old, regarded as the greatest ever Zimbabwe player, sent his resignation to the team and is now expected to land a bigger role in one of the two new teams, according to PTI. The cities of Lucknow and Ahmedabad will be represented by two additional teams in the 2022 season.
Earlier, KL Rahul, who has been Punjab Kings’ captain for the past two seasons, chose not to continue with the team. Rahul is expected to be captain of the new Lucknow franchise.
It remains to be seen if Flower stays as head coach of CPL franchise Saint Lucia Kings, which is owned by the same consortium that owns Punjab Kings. Saint Lucia finished runners-up in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Flower was the head coach for England for half a decade. During his time with the England team, Flower led the side to the T20 World Cup title in 2010 and number one spot in the Test rankings.
Wasim Jaffer was Punjab’s batting coach last season and Jonty Rhodes fielding coach. Punjab have retained only two players – Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh – ahead of the mega auction in January. They will be eyeing a bunch of youngsters at the auction along with some established names.