Indian Premier League team Punjab Kings have appointed former Australian first-class cricketer Damien Wright as their bowling coach for the upcoming season of the cash-rich league.
The former cricketer, who represented Tasmania for a large part of his career also served as the head coach of the Bangladesh under-19 cricket team and will help support the Punjab Kings squad under the guidance of head coach and Director of Cricket Operations, Anil Kumble.
“I am delighted to come on board as bowling coach for Punjab Kings. The team looks great and there is tremendous potential in this squad and I look forward to working alongside an amazing support staff team this season of the IPL,” Wright said.
Anil Kumble, the Punjab Kings head coach and director of cricket operations, said:
“We are pleased to announce that Damien Wright will join us as bowling coach at Punjab Kings. He brings in a great deal of experience and will definitely help strengthen our team. We look forward to working with him this edition of the IPL.”
As per ESPNcricinfo, the 45-year-old bowler played 123 games in his first-class career and he had started his career in 1997-98 for Worcestershire. He played representative cricket till 2011, including for Australia and then he shifted his focus to coaching after retiring as a player.
Wright has worked with Australian Big Bash League sides Hobart Hurricanes and the Melbourne Stars and also served as the bowling coach of New Zealand team.
Apart from Kumble and Wright, Punjab Kings also have Jonty Rhodes (fielding coach), Wasim Jaffer (batting coach) and Andy Flower (assistant coach) among other big names.
KL Rahul led Punjab Kings, are scheduled to start their IPL campaign against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on April 12.