Punjab Kings coach slams ECB for calling back players early, says 'Everybody was in a similar position but we lost those English players'

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 league stage has come to an end. Punjab Kings (PBKS) lost their last match of the season to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and finished ninth on the points table with nine losses from 14 games. PBKS’ season was marred by injuries and towards the end, players leaving the squad. For the SRH clash, they had only one overseas player – Rilee Rossouw – in the playing XI. 
 

They had three English players in the side – stand-in captain Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone – and one of them had to go back home early after getting called by the England Cricket Board (ECB) to avoid an injury ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. PBKS coach Sanjay Bangar has blamed the board and the extended schedule for not being able to qualify for the playoffs for the 10th season on the trot. 
 

"When we went to the auction, the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) had made it clear that all the players will be available. It is just that it so happens that the tournament got slightly extended, I would say, because of multiple reasons. Everybody was in a similar position but we lost those English players," said Bangar in the post-match presentation on May 19.

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While Bangar admits that their below-par season was not just because of unavailability of overseas players, he rued not having them for the must-win games.
 

"For us, even losing Livingstone with a niggle around his knee, the ECB pulling him out. Even KG (Kagiso Rabada) had an infection and he had to go back (to South Africa). Those things coupled together meant that when we came to the last two matches, we were short of players of international pedigree and experience. That hurt us but that is not the sole reason why our season was below par," he added.
 

SRH finish in top two 

In the clash against SRH, they posted a challenging total of 214/5. Prabhsimran Singh scored a 45-ball 71 whereas Atharav Taide and Rossouw contributed with crucial 40s followed by stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma's cameo. Once again, Abhishek Sharma was destructive in the powerplay overs. After his 28-ball 66, SRH middle-order batters carried forward the momentum and took the team over the line with five balls to spare to finish in top two of the points table. 
 

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