IPL 2018: Brad Hodge appointed as head coach of Kings XI Punjab

The build up to the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has already begun. Soon after the announcements were made about the player retentions for the tournament, the teams have started building their core management now. Kings XI Punjab have appointed former Australian cricketer Brad Hodge as the head coach of the franchise.

Hodge will be working under the guidance of former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag. Sehwag is the brand ambassador, mentor, and the Director of Cricketing operations of the Kings XI Punjab. The recent reports in the India Times suggest that the announcement was made by the team management yesterday.

The reports further added that Virender Sehwag wil be heading all the cricketing affairs of the franchise. Interestingly, this is not the first time that Brad Hodge will be associated with the IPL. He has been a part of the coveted T20 league earlier as well.

He was a prominent player in the Rajasthan Royals camp earlier. In the last two editions of the tournament, Hodge served int he capacity of the head coach of the Gujarat Lions franchise. Under his supervision, the Gujarat Lions had made it to the playoffs in the 2016 edition of the tournament.

Omissions from the team

While Brad Hodge is a new addition to the Kings XI roster, there have been a few deductions too. R Sridhar, who served as the fielding coach of KXIP, will not be part of the team anymore due to conflict of interest as he serves the national side. The same is applicable for physio Patrick Farhart as well.

In addition to these two, video analyst Ashish Tuli will also discontinue his services with the KXIP due to conflict of interest. Amidst this backdrop, it is being expected that the team management could soon name the players they would be retaining for the upcoming edition of the IPL. The IPL auctions will take place in February 2018.