Aussie duo Brad Haddin and James Hopes say goodbye to Punjab Kings after taking up coaching roles back home

Haddin, earlier this year, joined New South Wales, while James Hopes took up a dual role at Queensland and Brisbane Heat.

Updated on: Oct 8, 2026, 13:27:49 IST

Written by Prateek Srivastava

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Punjab Kings will soon have to find new bowling and fielding coaches as Australian duo Brad Haddin and James Hopes part ways with the franchise on Thursday. Haddin joined the set-up ahead of the 2023 IPL season. Initially, he was the assistant coach but later he was given the responsibilities of a fielding coach.

Brad Haddin joined the franchise ahead of the 2023 edition. (Surjeet Yadav, IPL)

Hopes, on the other hand, joined the team ahead of the 2025 edition as a fast-bowling coach. Both Haddin and Hopes saw a good period at the IPL franchise, particularly in 2025, when they, under Shreyas Iyer, reached the final, their first in 11 years. Although they lost the final to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, their campaign was full of flair and style, with Iyer leading from the front. If truth be told, they were considered overwhelming favourites to beat RCB in the lead-up to the final showdown.

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Anyway, Haddin and Hopes’ departures have not come as a surprise to anyone. Earlier this year, they took up important roles in Australian domestic cricket. In June, Hopes took up the head coach roles at Queensland and Brisbane Heat. "I wrestled with this decision as I was, and still am, very appreciative of being offered the Sixers role earlier this year. However, to have the opportunity to take on the head coaching program with Queensland and live in Brisbane again was too good to miss," the former Australia all-rounder said at the time of his appointment.

Haddin, on the other hand, in March joined New South Wales as their new head coach. "NSW cricket has been an integral part of my life, and to rejoin the fold as Blues head coach is a proud moment for myself and my family. Wearing the baggy blue was incredibly special and gave me some of the greatest memories of my career.

"I am looking forward to working with our current crop of talented players to bring back an aura to NSW cricket and to have a team with a formidable and distinctive style of play we can all be proud of," the former Australia wicket-keeper batsman said.

Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting now has some vacancies to fill. It’s understandable that being an Australian, it’s easier to gel with personnel from Down Under, so it will be interesting to see whether the former Australia captain takes the same route or looks at other nationalities for supporting coaching roles.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Prateek Srivastava
Prateek Srivastava is a senior sports journalist having been in the profession for two decades now. He started his print career with the India Today Group and later also worked for the Asian Age. In 2009, sensing the wind of change, he switched to the digital media and joined Mobile ESPN. There, he covered the 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2010 Hockey World Cup as a venue reporter. He did plenty of voice-over work too, over there. After leaving Mobile ESPN, Prateek went on to work for Cricketnext, Gocricket and Cricbuzz. At Gocricket (Times Internet Limited), he covered the 2014 T20 World from Bangladesh. There he also received a team leadership award, given at the end of the month. Prateek has also covered the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, this time working for Sportz Interactive. He also worked for Chinese giants Alibaba over two years and led their ""Short News"" content team at UC Browser. While cricket is Prateek’s expertise, he has also done a lot of golf. In fact, he has covered India’s first two European Tour events back in the late noughties. He has also done extensive writing on football having been associated with the Indian Super League for three seasons. Finally, Prateek is a literature aficionado and swears by Philip Roth and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and when he doesn’t joke, he is usually quiet and at work.Read More

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