Punjab franchise breaks silence on all the speculations regarding captaincy change

Recently, it was reported that the Punjab franchise is considering sacking Mayank Agarwal from the captaincy role. However, the franchise on their official Twitter handle has denied speculations regarding the captaincy change and has stated that no statements have been made by any Punjab team official.

There was a statement that was making rounds on many news websites regarding the removal of the Indian batter as a full-time skipper. It was speculated that a Punjab franchise official made the discourse.

“No Mayank is not in plans to lead. He will need to focus on batting. He will be a crucial player for us. As for Anil, we are discussing a few options but nothing has materialized yet. We have time left. We will take a call at the right time,” read the statement.

The news of Agarwal's removal took the fans by shock as it was only in the last season Punjab named Mayank Agarwal as their new skipper. The Indian batter took over the reins from KL Rahul, who is now leading the Lucknow Franchise. Also, the dashing England batter Jonny Bairstow was speculated to lead the side in the Indian T20 League 2023.

Punjab, on their official Twitter handle, issued a statement that cleared all the buzz pertaining to the change of reins. It stated that no official of the Punjab camp has issued any statement on the above matter.

Punjab's Twitter post stated, "News reports published by a certain sports News website pertaining to captaincy of the Punjab franchise has been making the rounds in the last few days. We would like to state that no official of the team has issued any statement on the same."

News reports published by a certain sports News website pertaining to captaincy of the Punjab Kings franchise has been making the rounds in the last few days. We would like to state that no official of the team has issued any statement on the same.

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) August 24, 2022

This year Mayank had his worst season in the Indian T20 League. He could only accumulate 196 runs at an average of 16.33 and a strike rate of 122.50. His form might have also played a role in fueling the false speculations. The ace Indian batter is currently leading the Bengaluru Blasters in the Karnataka Premier League.

Meanwhile, the Punjab franchise are expected to part ways with head coach Anil Kumble as the former Indian cricketer was not able to guide his team to a playoff spot in any of the last three seasons. Punjab are known to be in talks with Trevor Bayliss and Eoin Morgan for the coach's role for the upcoming season of the Indian T20 League.