NEW COACH

Brad Hodge appointed KXIP head coach

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Brad Hodge served as head coach of Gujarat Lions. © BCCI

Brad Hodge has been appointed as the head coach of IPL side Kings XI Punjab. Hodge will report to former KXIP player Virender Sehwag, who now serves as the franchise's Director of Cricket.

Hodge, 42, is among the most sought-after personnel in T20 cricket for his immense body of work in the shortest format of cricket. He is one of just eight cricketers to aggregate more than 7000 runs in T20 cricket and remains an active player in franchise cricket. He will turn out for Melbourne Renegades in the forthcoming season of the Big Bash League.

Hodge occupied a similar coaching role with the now-defunct Gujarat Lions franchise. In his first season as coach, he guided the team to the top spot in the league phase of the tournament. Injuries hampered the Lions' season in IPL 2017 as they finished second from last, having picked up only four wins through the league phase.

At Kings XI, Hodge will be tasked with reversing a sorry statistic that has Kings XI as one one of only three original franchises (Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils the others) to have never won the IPL. Under Sanjay Bangar as head coach, the team made the finals of the 2014 season before falling away once more in the next two years. Bangar stepped down in 2016 with Sehwag taking over in a coaching-cum-mentoring role for 2017.

© Cricbuzz

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