Gautam Gambhir Wants This Foreign Coach as His Assistant Before Starting Team India Tenure

Add as a preferred source on Google

In a surprising move, Gautam Gambhir, the new head coach of the Indian cricket team, is advocating for the inclusion of Ryan ten Doeschate in his support staff.

Gambhir's request to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is significant, as the BCCI has recently shown a preference for Indian personnel in the coaching crew, according to a report by Cricbuzz.

Gambhir, who has asked for a free hand in managing the team, wants the 44-year-old former Dutch international as one of his associates. Ten Doeschate has worked with Gambhir at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), serving as the team's fielding coach during their championship-winning 2024 season. He also holds various positions with KKR's subsidiaries in the Caribbean Premier League, Major League Cricket, and ILT20.

A viral video of Gambhir praising ten Doeschate has recently circulated on social media. In the video, Gambhir calls the Dutchman the most selfless human being he has ever met, someone he would even be ready to take a bullet for.

"When I talk about selflessness, I have never said this in 42 years of my career. And I wanted to say this. The greatest team man I ever played with, the most selfless human being, someone I can take a bullet for, someone who I can trust for life. I can tell you this because in 2011, my first game as a KKR captain, we only had four overseas players available.

"And this man had a fabulous 50-over World Cup. And we went into that game with only three overseas players. He was carrying drinks in that game with no disappointment on his face. He taught me selflessness. Ryan ten Doeschate," Gambhir says in the video, shot at a KKR function last season. Those who know Gambhir say he tends to surround himself with people he trusts implicitly.

The current discussion centres around the position ten Doeschate might assume should he be considered. The BCCI reportedly wants to retain T Dilip, a member of Rahul Dravid's outgoing staff, as the fielding coach.

In this scenario, ten Doeschate may be brought in as an assistant coach. However, there is a complication: Abhishek Nayar, who is certain to join Team Gambhir, is also being considered for a similar assistant coach role rather than for a specialised batting coach role.

Some adjustments may be necessary if the BCCI eventually decides to bring ten Doeschate on board. If ten Doeschate does join the Indian team, KKR will be left without at least three members of its coaching team that helped it win the IPL this year.