Another Indian Premier League (IPL) season passes by as the Punjab Kings’ 10-year playoff drought carries on. Tom Moody, the first head coach of the PBKS (formerly known as Kings XI Punjab) blames the team’s struggles on its “inconsistency in leadership”. These comments stem from the fact that the franchise has appointed 15 different captains in 17 seasons of the IPL.

“I think it is a pretty good indication of why they have their struggles. They have many changes with regards to leadership whether it be on field or off field. There seems to always be that inconsistency when it comes to what direction their leadership is taking both on and off the field. Therefore that inconsistency is naturally going to flow into what happens on the field,” Moody, cricket expert and commentator with official TV broadcaster Star Sports for IPL 2024, told IANS in an exclusive chat.

Moody was the coach during Punjab’s first ever trip to the playoffs in 2008 where they lost in the semifinals against the Chennai Super Kings. He then went on to be the man at the helm for the Sunrisers Hyderabad for 7 seven consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2019 in what can only be considered as a very successful tenure which included five playoff appearances and the title in 2016.

The 58-year-old went on to applaud the youngsters making a name for themselves in the IPL saying that “the future is very bright”. Moody further spoke on how impressed he is with youngsters Riyan Parag and Abhishek Porel in the ongoing edition of the IPL.

“The future is very bright, the IPL always uncovers many domestic players showcase their talents. We’ve seen many grow as the seasons unfold and a good example of that is Riyan Parag at Rajasthan. He has been in the IPL for a number of years, he is still a young player but this year has been a breakout season for him and it sort of put his name on the radar as a future potential Indian player.

“Another example of that is (Abhishek) Porel from the Delhi Capitals, he is another one that has had a really good season. It is great to have a platform like this where not only Indian players but overseas players can showcase their skills in the best T20 tournament in the world,” he signed off.

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