There was no unceremonious parting in the first stint: Wadia after Bangar’s return

Sanjay Bangar returned to Punjab Kings after seven years as the franchise’s head of cricket development. In 2016, it was widely reported that Bangar had some issues with Preity Zinta, one of the co-owners of Punjab Kings, but since then, a lot of time has flown by, with Bangar already coaching the Indian team and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the process.

Ness Wadia, the co-owner of Punjab Kings, revealed that there was no unceremonious parting in 2016 and his return was appreciated by everyone in the franchise. 

"Basically, when Bangalore released him, we were very happy. So it's a homecoming of sorts in that sense. And we're so happy that he's come back and he'll be working with Trevor and everyone else. And his return is very much appreciated and welcomed," Wadia told Cricbuzz.

"We took the opportunity to hire him again, and the decision was unanimous amongst all the promoters. We all wanted Sanjay back because he was with us earlier when he started his career and now he's coached for India. He had also been with RCB.”

“There was no unceremonious parting in the first stint. I think that's not correct. And Sanjay will be with us hopefully for a while. I'm very happy that he's going to bring, you know, all his experience with Trevor [Bayliss], with Shikhar (Dhawan, the captain] and with the whole team and with Satish [Menon, the CEO]. And I think you'll see a lot of sort of structure being brought in and Punjab Kings will be a force to reckon with in the years to come."

Despite having a strong show in the IPL auctions over the years, Punjab Kings have overall failed to live up to the hype by not making it to the playoffs for nine consecutive years. The last time they made it past the group stage was in 2014, in which they lost the finals to Kolkata Knight Riders.