Punjab Kings snatch Rajasthan Royals’ top star ahead of IPL 2026 auction – Cricket Addictor

Published – 23 Oct 2025, 04:38 PM | Updated – 23 Oct 2025, 04:42 PM
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Indian Premier League runners-up from 2025, the Punjab Kings, have announced the appointment of former Rajasthan Royals coach Sairaj Bahutule as the team’s new spin bowling coach ahead of the upcoming season.
The Punjab Kings ended as the top team in the IPL 2025 points table with 19 points before losing to the Royal Challengers Bangalore twice in the playoffs. They lost the game in Qualifier 1 and then in the final by just 6 runs, handing PBKS their second runners-up position in IPL history.

The skipper, Shreyas Iyer, as well as the entire coaching unit, comprising Ricky Ponting, was freshly recruited to feature in IPL 2025, and they produced just the right result for the Kings. However, they have cited making some changes to the coaching staff ahead of the upcoming season.
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Experienced coach Sairaj Bahutule has been picked as the new spin bowling coach in the Punjab Kings setup, replacing former spin coach Sunil Joshi ahead of the IPL mini-auction. Sunil Joshi, the former coach in the Punjab Kings lineup, left the franchise to become the new bowling coach at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
Ahead of this, he served as the bowling coach at CoE and held the position from November 2021 to January 2025, but left to join the former National Cricket Academy head Rahul Dravid at the Rajasthan Royals.
Bahutule was released ahead of the upcoming season by the Rajasthan Royals following the exit of Rahul Dravid, the head coach of the IPL franchise. This time around, he gets to work under another cricket legend, Ricky Ponting.
After the appointment of the experienced Indian coach, the Punjab Kings CEO, Satish Menon, extended a warm welcome to Bahutule and said, “We extend our sincere thanks to Sunil Joshi for his dedicated service and contribution to the Punjab Kings over the years. As we look forward, we are thrilled to welcome Sairaj Bahutule to our coaching staff.”
“Sairaj’s deep understanding of the game, particularly his extensive experience in grooming domestic bowlers and managing strategy, will be invaluable to our side. His expertise aligns perfectly with our vision of building a strong and cohesive bowling unit for the season ahead,” he added.
Sairaj Bahutule, in return, showed excitement towards joining the franchise and stated, “I’m really excited to join Punjab Kings as a spin bowling coach for the upcoming IPL season. This is a team that plays a different brand of cricket, and I can see the potential is massive. They have a bunch of talented players, and I’m looking forward to working with them to refine their skills and help them reach new heights.”
With Sunil Joshi having parted ways with the PBKS, the runners-up have appointed his replacement but have not looked to make any changes to the highly successful coaching staff, to be led by Australian great Ricky Ponting.
PBKS coaching staff for IPL 2026:
Head Coach: Ricky Ponting
Assistant Coach: Brad Haddin
Fast Bowling Coach: James Hopes
Spin Bowling Coach: Sairaj Bahutule (replaces Sunil Joshi)
Assistant Bowling Coach: Trevor Gonsalves
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