Sunil Joshi parts ways with Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2026

Punjab Kings spin bowling coach Sunil Joshi has stepped down from his role at the franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL). According to a report published on Cricbuzz, the former Indian spinner wrote to the franchise on Sunday, October 5, about his decision.

In an interesting turn of events, the former spinner is expected to join the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at its Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, which could be the reason behind the decision to leave the PBKS franchise.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, a Punjab Kings franchise official has made it official that Sunil has written about his unavailability for the forthcoming IPL 2026 season, adding that the franchise has a good equation with him. The official also asserted that they don’t want to stop anyone’s career growth.

"He has written to us about his unavailability for the coming season. He is a good guy and the franchise has a good equation with him. But we don't want to come in the way of someone's career growth," a PBKS franchise official told Cricbuzz.

While his last international game came against Australia in 2001, he later represented the Royal Challengers Bengaluru franchise in the 2008 and 2009 seasons and was part of the contract until 2010. He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in 2012.

Joshi, who played 15 Tests and 69 ODIs for India between 1996 and 2001, represented the Punjab Kings franchise in the past as well during IPL 2020 to IPL 2022 seasons under head coach Anil Kumble. 

He was later appointed as the BCCI Chief Selector and went on to be a part of the selection committee. He also served as the head coach of the Uttar Pradesh State team during his brief coaching career. In his coaching career, he was also part of the national teams like the USA, Bangladesh, and Oman cricket teams in the past.

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