Nes Wadia, who is the co-owner of the Kings XI Punjab said the franchise decided not to trade Ravichandran Ashwin with the Delhi Capitals following a “rethink” by the Board. It has been learned that the newly-appointed head coach Anil Kumble has voiced his opinion of retaining Ashwin, who captained the side in the previous two editions.

As per the quotes in PTI, Wadia said, “The (KXIP) Board had a rethink and it realized that Ashwin is an integral part of the team. There were discussions with Delhi Capitals but those discussions never came to fruition. The way he plays his cricket and his performances speak for him.”

Under Ashwin’s leadership, KXIP showed a lot of promise in the first half of the past two seasons before losing momentum in the second half. They finished at seventh place in 2018 and sixth in 2019. Ashwin has been in fine form in the ongoing Test series against South Africa.

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KXIP reached the semi-finals in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008 before making the playoffs just once in 2014 when they finished runners-up. Now with the legendary Kumble on board, the franchise is aiming to end its title drought. The former India skipper has been handed a three-year contract.

Describing the same, Wadia further added, “Anil is really a breath of fresh air. He is so cool, calm and collected. We are fortunate to have a relationship with him. Likewise, he sees it as an opportunity to take KXIP into something which it has the potential to be. Last two seasons, we were the best team in the first half but somehow lost focus and momentum in the second. I really don’t know what happened.”

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Kumble resigned from the position of the Indian head coach following the 2017 Champions Trophy final due to alleged rift with skipper Virat Kohli. He also held mentorship roles at Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Talking about Kumble, Wadia said, “He will bring a lot of calmness to the team and discipline most definitely. He will inspire players to really optimize their own talent without trying too hard. His rich coaching experience will help us tremendously. We have a three-year contract and we hope to work together beyond that.”

KXIP have done a lot of changes in their support staff in the last five years when the likes of Sanjay Bangar, Virender Sehwag, Brad Hodge, and Mike Hesson donned the head coach role.

Talking about the same, Wadia jokingly said, “I have lost count of the coaches we have had. We are looking for stability and stability is good as long as there is the performance.”