Punjab Kings (PBKS) have been left with a void after a member of the Ricky Ponting-led coaching side has left the franchise ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) season. Sunil Joshi, who served as the spin-bowling coach for PBKS, is understood to have joined the Indian setup now.
The 55-year-old is set to become the new spin bowling coach at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. His contract will begin from October 1.
For the unversed, Joshi was recently heavily involved during the Duleep Trophy 2025 and was also with the India A squad for their two unofficial Tests against Australia A in Lucknow.
His departure now means that the IPL 2025 runners-up will have a task to fill the void before the new season begins.
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Despite a competitive field of candidates interviewed earlier this year, Joshi was selected for the position due to his significant coaching experience, eclipsing the likes of Rakesh Dhruv and Nooshin Al Khadeer, coach of the India U-19 women’s team. He succeeds Sairaj Bahutale, who left his post as spin bowling coach at the CoE to join the Rajasthan Royals prior to the IPL 2025 edition.
In addition to his IPL credentials, Sunil Joshi has coached Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket and worked as the spin bowling consultant for Bangladesh, alongside stints with USA and Oman.
While his primary task will be to identify and nurture upcoming spinning talents, apart from his development work, Joshi will also work with the current crop of spinners who are part of India’s national team and those who come to the CoE for training and rehabilitation purposes.
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