Gautam Gambhir was appointed as the new head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team on July 9, and he will officially take charge of the Men in Blue from the Sri Lanka series onwards, which starts on July 27. Ahead of his first series as head coach, Gambhir attended a first press conference on Monday (July 22) in Mumbai, and during that, the former Indian batter confirmed the appointment of former Indian all-rounder Abhishek Nayar and Dutch batter Ryan ten Doeschate as the new assistant coaches of Team India.
Gambhir has worked with Nayar and Ten Doeschate during his stint as mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024.
“Really happy with the BCCI. They have agreed with most of the things I have asked for. The crux of the support staff will remain what it is right now, but we will finalise it once the Sri Lanka tour is over. Yes, Abhishek (Nayar) is the assistant coach, and Ryan ten Doeschate is the assistant coach. I personally feel there can be assistant coaches who can probably involve themselves more in all three departments rather than just focusing on one, and that is the reason why now we have two assistant coaches as well. And that is the way we go forward, and yes, you will get to know the exact support staff once the Sri Lanka tour is over,” Gambhir said.
The 42-year-old also confirmed that T. Dilip and former Indian spinner Sairaj Bahutule will travel with the Indian team to Sri Lanka as part of the support staff.
“Abhishek Nayar is there, Sairaj Bahutule is there, Dilip is there, and Ryan ten Doeschate is going to join in Colombo,” Gambhir said when asked about coaching staff for the Sri Lanka tour.
Dilip was India’s fielding coach during Rahul Dravid’s tenure as head coach, and he is expected to be reappointed again. And as far as Bahutule is concerned, he is expected to be India’s bowling coach for the Sri Lanka series only.
On Sunday (July 21), it was reported by CricketNext that former South African pacer Morne Morkel is likely to become India’s new bowling coach after the India-Sri Lanka series.
During the first official interaction with the press after taking charge of the Indian team, Gambhir also spoke at length about his coaching mantra, saying that he believes in giving freedom to the players and adding that players will always have his back.
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